


The Darkness

by Zylo



Series: Insanity AU [15]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fantasy, Fantasy elements, M/M, Redemption, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-10-24 23:31:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zylo/pseuds/Zylo
Summary: The main inhabitant of the dark mindscape finally has the place all to himself and his two lackeys (who'd really rather be anywhere else). That was just a side goal to him though; what he wants now is vengeance...at least he believes so.Meanwhile, the Dragon Witch has plans of her own that requires his assistance, willing or not.~Set in Dimension 3~





	1. Takeover

In the dark side of the mindscape, two former inhabitants stood before a dreary looking house. The only source of light at the moment were a couple of flashlights they had brought with them. As soon as one of them took a step towards the house, the other grabbed him by the arm.

  
"Dax, maybe we shouldn't go in there," Virgil said, "at least not without Pops. This place is giving me to creeps."

  
"Even moreso than Titan's palace did?" Mendax asked, looking over at the other side curiously.

  
Virgil nodded his head, "A lot more - I mean, yeah, we used to live here but at least the house didn't look...like _this_." He gestured towards the house, rotting wood laying around and parts of the roof missing. "It didn't look like it spent years decaying."

  
"You **_don't_** have a point," Mendax muttered, glancing around at the property. "Still, we came all the way out here. Might as well **_not_** at least take a quick look inside - make sure some animal from the Imagination isn't stuck here or something... There were Ian's rats after all, whatever happened to them?"

  
Virgil shook his head, "Other than the one Dad took in as a pet? No clue. Look - let's just get in and get out _quickly._ "

  
Mendax wrapped an arm around Virgil's shoulders, "Quickly it is then."

* * *

  
The inside of the house looked somewhat better than the outside. However, layers of dust coated everything and upon trying to turn on the lights, they discovered that there was no power. Furthermore, they heard what sounded like footsteps coming from the second floor.

  
"...Stay behind me," Mendax said as the two walked towards the stairs.

  
"Don't have to tell me twice," Virgil whispered nervously, walking as quietly as possible.

  
Creeping up the stairs, they began to hear what sounded like voices. As soon as they got to the top, they sneaked down the hallway, hearing the voices coming from Ian's old room. To their benefit, the door was closed for the time being. Through quick enough thinking that would make Logan proud, Virgil pulled out his phone and opened a recording app. Turning it on, the anxious side hoped that it would pick up clearly.

  
"What even _is_ this place?" One of the voices said. "It looks like a tornado came through here."

  
"This is the former room of one of those so-called " _dark sides_ "," a second, more gruff voice said.

  
"...But I thought you were the only dark side? You've been claiming that since we met you," a final, third voice asked.

  
"Hence the words " _so-called_ ", you idiot," the first voice snapped.

  
"Who are you calling an idiot?!" The third voice shouted.

  
" _Enough!_ " The second voice commanded, followed by what sounded like something banging on Ian's old desk. As silence fell, the second voice continued. "What's _important_ is that he turned _against_ me! After _everything_ I did for him over the years! So help me if either of you damn figments even _think_ of doing the same!"

  
Mendax and Virgil both looked at each other. With a shared nod, the two quietly crept back down the stairs and out of the house. The minute they were back outside, they took off running towards the doors to the Imagination. They knew they had to let the others know about this.

* * *

  
" _Pops! We have a problem!_ "

  
Aiden paused his game and looked over at Virgil and Mendax, the music of _Crash Bandicoot: Warped_ playing quietly in the background. "Problem? What kind of problem, lads?"

  
Mendax stood in the doorway while he silently motioned for Virgil to sit down in the desk chair, for his own sake; he could see that the anxious side was still a bit shaky after getting back home. Nodding his head, Virgil sat down and began to explain that they went to check up on their old home before letting him listen to the recording on his phone.

  
Aiden leaned back against the headboard of the bed as he listened, a scowl on his face as he crossed his arms. "Arlo and _especially_ Ian need to know about this." With that said, Aiden quickly summoned them to the room.

  
"Aiden? Kids?" Arlo asked, blinking in confusion as he looked around the room.

  
"What's going on?" Ian asked, equally as confused.

  
"Trouble, unfortunately," Aiden said, looking at the two. "You'd both better sit down for this." Once the two joined him on the bed, Aiden nodded his head at Virgil.

  
"Dax and I were at the old place and...well, just listen for yourselves," Virgil said, pressing play again.

  
As soon as the recording ended once more, Ian jumped up from the bed, looking almost as white as his lab coat. " _That's the voice_! That second one!"

  
The four looked at him in confusion and concern; getting up, Arlo carefully sat Ian back down on the edge of the bed, he and Aiden joining him. "What do you mean, Ian?" Arlo asked gently.

  
"That- that's the _voice_ that I used to hear in my head! The darkness from that side of the mindscape itself!" Ian exclaimed, shaking slightly. "I-I don't know _who_ the other two voices belong to but whoever they are, we _need_ to get them away from there! From that _thing_!"

  
"Before we jump into anything, we _need_ to tell Tom about this," Aiden said firmly. "We're not making that mistake again."

  
"We need to tell Andy as well," Mendax added, "if two of the figments **_aren't_ **involved then he needs to know."

* * *

  
Back in the dark side of the mindscape, the figure in question stood outside the old house. Darkness surrounded him, shrouding his appearance from view except for two glowing lights roughly around where his eyes should be. Behind him were the other two figures he was talking to earlier, each one also obscured by the darkness, albeit it unwillingly judging from their tense bodies.

  
"Time for a cleanup, don't you think?" The first one asked, holding out his hand towards the house. In moments, the house was being overtaken in what could only be described as vines. Once it was completely covered, the figure pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist. The vines constricted all at once, quickly destroying the already decaying house.

  
The other two took a step back in shock but he payed no attention to them. "Now comes the fun part," he said casually, holding out his hand once more. From all around them, the surrounding darkness spread towards the location of the former house, forming a puddle-like substance in its place. After a moment of silence, the figure raised his hand up quickly and the dark puddle shot up into the air, spreading and forming into something that the others couldn't quite make out. Several minutes later, the darkness dissolved back into the rest of the surrounding area, leaving a stronghold behind.

  
"Welcome to our new home, boys."


	2. Identified

"Hey," the first figure said, motioning towards the empty desk chair, "can I-?"

  
"Yeah, sit," the second one said. "What's up?"

  
The first scratched the back of his head, awkwardly looking at the ground, "Sorry for calling you an idiot earlier, P-"

  
"It's fine," he responded, shaking his head. "Why are you really here, though?"

  
Sighing, the first figure wrapped his arms around himself and slumped down, "I really _don't_ want to be here - especially not with _him_."

  
"Neither do I but...I mean, he _did_ save us from those monsters that were running around the Dragon Witch's territory. He can't be _all_ bad, right M-?" The sound of a bang from downstairs cut him off, followed by a string of curses. Shooting a look at his companion, he nodded towards the hallway. "We should probably go check on him."

  
"...I suppose so," the other one replied, standing up from the chair. "He sounded pretty ticked just now."

  
Heading down to the commons, the two peeked around the doorway to look at the dark one. To their surprise and amusement, he was on the floor while holding his foot, a toolbox lying next to him. "Uh...are you alright?" One of thme asked, causing their boss to snap his head up.

  
Jumping up and quickly regaining his composure, the dark one kicked the toolbox off to the side. "I'm perfectly fine; nothing to worry about here. Go back to...whatever it was you two were doing," he waved his hand dismissively.

  
"Don't have to tell us twice," one of them whispered to the other.

* * *

  
"Ian? Thomas tilted his head in confusion, having intended on getting to work editing one of his videos, only to be interrupted. "What's up?"

  
"We have a bit of a situation going on," Ian said, sitting down on the couch. "Remember that voice I told you about? The one that came from the dark mindscape itself?"

  
Thomas's eyes furrowed in concern, "You're not hearing it again, are you? Do you want me to summon the others?"

  
Ian held his hands up, "No, no, it's not that. It's- I wouldn't say _worse_ but...maybe equally as bad? Turns out " _Mr. Voice_ " has his own body-"

  
" _What?!_ " Thomas yelled in disbelief, interrupting Ian.

  
Ian nodded his head, "As I was saying - he has his own body and he has two of the figments working for him ny way of threatening them."

  
Thomas leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "This can't be happening. Do you know who the figments are?"

  
Ian shook his head, "No - not me, not Aiden and Arlo, and not Mendax and Virgil. Though speaking of, Virgil got a conversation the three were having recorded on his phone. He was going to let Andy listen to it, see if he could place the voices of the figments in question."

  
"Alright, just...keep me updated on this, okay?" Thomas asked. "I don't want to be caught off-guard by whoever this guy is."

* * *

  
Back in the Palace, Andy was minding his own business, just listening to some music while he tried to nap. His plans were disrupted though by someone yanking out his earbuds, startling him. "Huh-?! Hey, what gives?!" He shouted, sitting up in annoyance. Standing next to his bed was Virgil, the side looking nervous about something.

  
"Sorry Andy but something _important_ came up," Virgil said quickly. He then pulled up the recording app on his phone and handed the device to the figment. "Here, play this recording back and tell me if _any_ of the voices sound familiar to you."

  
Andy shook his head in disbelief but decided to just roll with it for now. Hitting the play button, he listened closely to the voices in question. Looking confused once the recording ended, he decided to listen through it again. "That's...no way, that _can't_ be right, " Andy finally said, handing the phone back to Virgil.

  
"What can't be right?" Virgil asked, pocketing the phone.

  
"The voices sound like these two guys me and the others used to be acquainted with - but the thing is, they've been MIA for a while now," Andy answered, a frown on his face. "We haven't seen them, Sun and Moon haven't seen 'em, none of the other figments have. It's like they just... up and disappeared one day."

  
Virgil looked displeased at that statement, "Looks like we have an answer to that mystery then. What are their names?"

  
Andy took a moment to think, the names right on the tip of his tongue. "...I remember - their names were Pranks and Missy."

* * *

  
"That's definitely their voices alright," Teal said, sitting back in a chair. Dayd, Pryce, Remy, and himself had been called into the Mind Palace's library by Andy for an important discussion.

  
"We're all in agreement then? It's them and not just one of us misremembering their voices?" Andy asked, sitting next to Virgil.

  
"Yeah, ain't no mistake," Remy muttered, taking a sip from his Starbucks. "What would that sonuvabitch want with them though?"

  
"Hmm, it does seem like a pretty random choice," Pryce added. "Pranks and Missy aren't exactly known for jumping into things like this to begin with."

  
"Whatever the reason, we need to get them back to safety," Dayd said sternly.

  
"Yeah, hopefully without the guy in charge going after us," Remy said.

  
"He went after Ian and now he has these two with him. Don't get your hopes up, Remy," Virgil quipped.

  
"Ah damn it," Remy muttered. "Figures."


	3. First Encounter

The dark one stretched as he stood up, having lured out the lone snake that was left behind from one of Ian's previous experiments. He happened to spot the reptile zipping around outside, clearly thrown off by the change in landscape. As soon as he approached it, it retreated through a hole in one of the logs laying around outside. Now though, it was resting contently in the palm of his hand.

  
"You are quite persistent," he muttered to the snake. "I like that."

  
"...Is that a snake?" A voice asked him curiously. He turned around and saw Pranks standing near the front entrance of the stronghold. Missy was peaking over his shoulder at the two.

  
"It's not venomous, is it?" Missy asked warily.

  
"If it was, I wouldn't be holding it so casually," the dark one answered. "There is something else on your minds."

  
"How'd you-?" Missy was cut off.

  
"You wouldn't have waited around while I was looking for the snake otherwise," the dark one remarked.

  
The two figments looked at each other and Pranks shrugged, "He kind of has a point." Missy merely shook his head.

  
"We wanted to know this for a while now; do you have an actual name?" Missy asked.

  
"I've just barely gotten used to having my own body _so_...I'll get back to you on that," the dark one said, swiftly walking past them, still carefully holding the snake in his gloved hands. "In the mean time, keep an eye out for any other animals that may be around here; I'll return them to the Imagination where they belong."

  
"Does that include the snake?" Pranks asked half jokingly.

  
"Only if it shows a desire to return there," the dark one called back, unaware of the shared look between the two figments.

* * *

  
"Well...shit," Ian muttered, looking at the doors that led from the Imagination to the dark side of the mindscape. Surrounding them was a magic-powered black and purple barrier, effectively keeping people out. Placing his hand on it further proved its purpose, as his hand rested against it as if he were touching an actual wall.

  
"Any idea on how to get past that thing?" Aiden asked, crossing his arms. Behind him stood Arlo, Virgil, and Mendax, each just as thrown off by this as they were.

  
Ian shook his head, "Not a clue. I don't have any experience with magic."

  
"Roman definitely does though," Virgil said, "so does Pryce. How many times have they talked about fighting the Dragon Witch?"

  
"Far too many," Mendax dryly remarked, grinning as Virgil tried not to snicker at that.

  
"Hopefully they can figure something out," Arlo said, stepping closer to get a better look at the barrier. "Otherwise we might have to ask the Dragon Witch herself for help."

  
"...If she's anything like the Dragon Witch from Dimension One then count me out," Virgil said, memories flashing in his mind. "I don't wanna be turned into a dragon like my counterpart was."

  
"Wouldn't that be such a sight to see though?" A voice said, getting their attention.

  
Immediately recognizing it, Ian looked behind the group and saw a cloaked figure rise up from the ground. " _You_! You're the one behind everything!" He growled at the figure, looking ticked off.

  
"And _you_ are trying to break into _my_ home," the figure replied. While he did want to get back at Ian, he knew he couldn't take all five of them on at the same time in his current state. Instead, he decided he would make due by messing with them for a bit of fun, "So _who's_ currently the _bad_ guy here?"

  
While he was talking to Ian, he didn't realize the other sides were now spread out around him, all ready to take him down. "You," Aiden answered for Ian, rushing at the strange being. He aimed a punch at the person's face but his opponent jumped into the air, landing on his back and using him as a springboard. " _Hey_!" Aiden shouted in surprise as he stumbled forward.

  
"Too slow," the dark one said casually, jumping out of the way from an attack by Arlo as he did so, "you too."

  
"He's not even _trying_ to fight," Virgil huffed in annoyance, "he's just messing with us! Is this some kind of _game_ to you?!"

  
The figure glanced over at the anxious side and merely shrugged, "Currently? I'll go ahead and say yes. After all, _I'm_ at least having fun."

  
As soon as he said this, he was sucker punched in the face by Ian. "How's that for _fun_ then?" Ian growled out, grabbing the figure's cloak immediately after. Yanking him back, Ian ignored the minor gagging that resulted from the force of having the cloth around his neck pulled.

  
"As much as I'd _love_ to deal with you right now, Ian, I'm afraid I _can't_ in this state," the dark one said, using magic to teleport out of his grasp and past the barrier. "Why don't you come back later when I've gotten used to being in control of this body?"

  
"The hell ** _don't_** you mean by " _this body_ "?" Mendax demanded, glaring suspiciously at him.

  
"I'm in a better mood after that bit of entertainment so I'll be nice and tell you - I used to be stuck as a _body-less voice_ , a part of the dark mindscape itself; until recently at least. Now like I said, come back later - or don't, I have other things to keep me occupied for now," the figure added nonchalantly, turning his back to them and walking through the doors. "Still, I expect a decent fight against you at some point, Ian. Don't disappoint me... _again_."

  
Ian flinched at that and yelled after his retreating form, "You bastard! I'll kick your ass!" Once the dark one was gone, Ian's body untensed and he slumped his shoulders. "Years later and he _still_ manages to get under my skin..." He then felt Aiden wrap an arm around his shoulders.

  
"Don't worry, we'll get him," Aiden assured Ian and the rest of his family, "once we figure out a way to get past that barrier. Let's go."


	4. The Shadow

"-And that's all we currently know so far," Thomas said, speaking through an inter-dimensional communicator. "Does any of that seem even remotely similar to something either of you dealt with?"

  
" _Not to me_ ," D2 Thomas's voice came through, " _and considering all the things the others get up to daily, that's saying something._ "

  
" _Me neither,_ " D1 Thomas replied, " _I'll double check later with Aiden and the others just to be sure_."

  
He sighed and leaned back into the couch, "Thanks anyway you guys. I'll keep ya both updated the more we figure things out ourselves." Once he received the go ahead, he shut off the communicator. Soon after, he felt a presence rise up in the room with him. Thinking it was just one of the sides or figments checking up on him, he looked over his shoulder. "Hey, what's- what the?!" Thomas jumped up from the couch upon seeing an unfamiliar person there.

  
Other than the clothes and the black and red eyes, the figure looked near identical to himself. "Who...who are _you_? Are you another side no one told me about - like with Aiden and the rest of his family?" Thomas asked, curiosity overcoming his initial shock.

  
The figure merely crossed his arms and watched, remaining silent as Thomas approached him but otherwise showing no signs of whether he was friend or foe. "Can...you talk?" Thomas finally asked after studying him for what felt like hours.

  
"You've heard of me before," the figure finally said calmly, "from Ian."

  
Thomas blinked, "Ian? You know him? But...he's never mentioned anyone like you before?"

  
The figure's expression didn't change, "Sure he has - during your excursion in the Demon Realm. You and I both know that you're a smart guy Thomas; you can figure this out."

  
_"Sometimes though, it was like I could hear a-a voice whispering in my ear while I was alone."_

  
_"I think that it came from the dark mindscape itself."_

  
Thomas's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he quietly backed away. "You're that _voice_ he told me about... Tell me two things - _what_ is your name and _how_ did you get a body?" He demanded, taking the initiative to get info before summoning any of the others.

  
The figure merely smirked, "See? I told you that you could figure it out."

  
"Answer my questions," Thomas pushed, standing his ground.

  
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the figure did just that. "My name is the same as yours. Though I suppose if you want, you can just call me " _Shadow Thomas_ " - after all, _what is_ a shadow in this case? A _reflected image_ , if you will."

  
"Alright, " _Shadow_ ", answer my other question now," Thomas once more demanded.

  
"Hmm...perhaps you should ask the Dragon Witch instead - if your royal friends would allow you to face down such danger," Shadow Thomas said. "For now though, I must be going - I promised my new pet that I wouldn't be gone long. Quite an affectionate reptile, surprisingly." With that, Shadow Thomas disappeared in a cloud of dark magic.

  
Once Thomas was sure he was alone again, he called upon Roman and Ian. "Thomas? Is something wrong?" Roman asked upon seeing him. "You look as though you've just seen the Dragon Witch."

  
Thomas shook his head and motioned for the two side to sit down. "Yeah, speaking of _her_... Has she been causing any trouble recently?"

  
Roman looked confused the more he thought about the question, "Not really, she's actually been _quieter_ than usual."

  
"Thomas, what's this about?" Ian asked.

  
"That guy that's running around the dark mindscape - he was literally here a few minutes ago," Thomas answered.

  
"What?!" Ian yelled, sitting up.

  
"That fiend! Did he threaten you?! I swear, I shall vanquish him!" Roman shouted, jumping to his feet, sword appearing in hand.

  
"Cool it for a moment, Princey!" Thomas yelled, "We don't need you rushing blindly into things!"

  
"Or swinging that sword around blindly for that matter," Ian remarked. "Let Thomas speak at least."

  
Roman looked between the two and cleared his throat, lowering his sword, "Oh, right, right! Thomas, as you were saying?"

  
Thomas shook his head at Roman's antics, "Here's what I found out - he told me to call him " _Shadow Thomas_ " and the Dragon Witch _definitely_ had something to do with him getting his own body."

  
Both sides were quiet as they comprehended what they just heard. After a drawn out silence Roman spoke up, his voice as steady as could be, "Thomas, I swear to you, the Dragon Witch will _not_ get away with this. I will see to that personally if I must."

  
"I appreciate that Roman, I really do. But, shouldn't the focus be on " _Shadow_ "? For now, at least?" Thomas asked.

  
"There's enough of us - half of us focuses on him while the other half focuses on the Dragon Witch," Ian suggested. "...He didn't threaten you or anything, right?"

  
Thomas shook his head, "No. He just...stood here until I kept pressuring him with questions. It was _really odd_."

  
"Odd sounds like an understatement," Ian replied, feeling the tell-tale sign of one of the others calling for him to come back to the Mind Palace. "...If everything is okay out here, I need to get back to the others. One of them is calling me."

  
"Same," Roman said, making his sword disappear. "Hopefully it isn't anything too serious."

  
"...Alright guys, I'll see ya later then," Thomas said, watching as the two sides sunk down.


	5. Conflict

As soon as Ian and Roman reappeared in the Mind Palace, they were startled by the sight before them. Standing there in plain sight was the Dragon Witch herself, staff in hand as she kept the others at bay through a magical barrier, similar to the one that surrounded the doors to the dark mindscape. "Well, so good of you two to join us," the Dragon Witch said, snickering at the immediately look of anger that flashed across Roman's face.

  
"How did you get in here, vile fiend?!" Roman demanded to know, brandishing his sword. Behind him, Ian summoned a blaster similar to the ones he built for Titan's guards, only without the risk of it getting jammed.

  
"As you can see, nothing a little _magic_ can't solve," the Dragon Witch said, her voice sounding slightly gleeful.

  
"First you bring about that shadow and now you _dare_ invade our home and capture our friends?! Clearly you've finally gone off the deep end!" Roman yelled angrily, rushing at her. However, she knocked him off his feet with a small blast of magic.

  
" _Roman!_ " Came the collective shout from everyone else.

  
"Oh _relax_ , I _barely_ touched him," the Dragon Witch said. "That _shadow_ is why I'm here in the first place. _Where_ _is he_?"

  
" _You_ gave him his own body and now you don't even _know_ where he is?" Roman grunted as Ian helped him up from the ground.

  
" _Don't_ take that tone of voi- _hrgh_!" The Dragon Witch stumbled back as she was sucker punched in the stomach by Shadow Thomas himself.

  
"Let them go," Shadow Thomas said calmly, looking down at the witch's hunched over form.

  
" _Why_ the hell did you-?!" She was cut off by the dark one, still as calm as ever.

  
"My issues are with _you_ and with _Ian_. Now let the rest of them go," he said once more.

  
Albeit reluctantly, she did as he ordered, only to then go off on a rant. "I _gave_ you a _body_! What _issue_ could you possibly have with me?! You _ungrateful_ little-!" She was cut off once more, this time by a single snap of Shadow Thomas's fingers. In an instant, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

  
"Wha-What did you do?!" Roman demanded to know, sword pointed at the shadow.

  
Shadow Thomas merely shrugged, moving the sword aside with his finger, "Sent her back to her tower, that's all." His attention then turned to Ian, "Like I said before, I expect a decent fight out of you at some point." With having said that, he teleported out of the Mind Palace, leaving the rest of them alone.

* * *

  
When Shadow Thomas reappeared, it was in his room at the stronghold. Sitting down on his bed, the snake that he had started referring to as Tempest quickly slithered over to him, curling up on his lap. Lightly petting the snake's head, he watched as Tempest seemed to lean into the touch. "Hey Tempest, you keeping an eye on things here like I asked?"

  
Tempest merely looked up at him and blepped in response. "I'll take that as a yes," Shadow Thomas said, leaning against the headboard, unaware of the two figments hanging around right outside his bedroom door. The two were trying to press their ears against the door so they could hear what he was saying, all the while trying not to alert him to their presence.

  
"I don't know how to feel about this," he continued talking to Tempest. "Before I had a body, I didn't have a second thought about what I was doing - what I was convincing Ian to do. When that witch offered me my own body, I didn't expect to...I don't even know. Feel _conflicted_? _Confused_? Something like that, Tempest." In response, Tempest slithered up his arm and rested around his neck. She then began to hiss in small rapid successions, a sound that if he had to guess, was her version of purring.

  
"And now she's been actively looking for me for...whatever reason," he said to Tempest, the snake staring at him. "Don't worry though, I sucker punched her as a warning." As if happy with that answer, Tempest went back to hissing.

  
Outside the door, Pranks and Missy took off down the halls, heading towards the former's room. Closing and locking the door, he slumped down against it while Missy collapsed in the desk chair. Both of them just stared at the other, each waiting for something to be said. Finally, it was Missy who spoke up, "You know _what_ this means, right?"

  
Pranks shrugged, "That he's having an identity crisis?"

  
" _No!_ " Missy snapped, "I mean...kinda? I suppose? What _I_ _mean_ is that we have a golden opportunity in front of us."

  
"...I don't follow," Pranks said after a moment of silence, scratching the back of his head.

  
Following Pranks's words, Missy had to resist the urge to facepalm. "He's confused, right? So what we need to do is convince him to drop his issue with whoever that Ian guy is and focus specifically on the witch. 'Cause I don't know about you but I didn't appreciate her sending monsters after us just because we accidentally set foot on " _her territory_ "."

  
"...Okay, yeah, that _was_ messed up," Pranks agreed. "How are we gonna approach him though?"

  
"...Good question. I'll think of something," Missy answered.

  
" _Great_ ," Pranks muttered sarcastically, "that'll take a while then." In response, Missy grabbed the nearest pillow off the bed and threw it at Pranks.

* * *

  
D1 Thomas sighed as he shut off the communicator and slumped down on the couch, reruns of Steven Universe playing in the background. He wanted to help his D3 counterpart but he had no clue who or what his friend was up against exactly. " _Thomas_." Blinking, D1 Thomas looked over towards the kitchen and saw Gunther standing in the doorway.

  
"How long have you been there?" D1 Thomas asked knowingly.

  
"Long enough," the demon replied. "What's going on with our friends is concerning."

  
D1 Thomas sighed, "I know but there's not much we can do if that guy refuses to step foot into the outside world."

  
"Not _necessarily_ ," Gunther said, crossing his arms. "If I had to guess, that guy would be after Ian specifically. In that case, if Ian fled to the outside world then there's a likely chance he'd be followed."

  
"Good point. But _what_ exactly are you getting at?" D1 Thomas asked. "From the sound of things, I don't think them pulling the same stunt that you did with leaving Ian under Jackal's watch is going to work on this new guy."

  
"Given the personal stake in this, whatever happens to him will be what Ian decides," Gunther answered. "I'm merely going to Dimension Three to help capture him once he's lured out."

  
"...Are Aiden and Arlo aware of this plan of yours?" D1 Thomas asked.

  
Gunther crossed his arms, "Of course they are. Telling them was the first thing I did."


	6. Shadow and Dragon

" _That_ -!" The Dragon Witch gasped out, reappearing in her tower still hunched over. "That ungrateful brat! I _give_ him a body in exchange for him working for me and _this_ is what he does?!" Fuming, she stomped up the spiral staircase before her, cursing under her breath. Slamming the door at the top open, she stalked into her potions room, where her cauldron was just waiting for her to work some magic.

  
Breathing fire, she got the cauldron going and walked from shelf to shelf, looking through her collection of ingredients. "Let's see... if he won't work for me _willingly_ , I'll just whip up a potion and shove it down his throat," she muttered, carrying several items in her arms over to her workstation. "A little mind control won't hurt him, after all. Just... _anything_ to give me the edge I need to _finally_ put those two uppity princes in their places!"

  
Getting to work, she kept talking to herself, eyes never straying far from her spell book that was sitting next to her ingredients. "Yes, yes, _very good_... Ensure that this concoction is potent enough to take effective immediately. Soon he and his powers will be my greatest asset!"

* * *

  
" _You_ approach him," Pranks said, pushing Missy towards the door to Shadow Thomas's room.

  
"Me? _Why_?" Missy asked, grumbling as he was shoved.

  
"Because it was _your_ idea in the first place," Pranks pointed out, leaning against the opposite wall.

  
"Hmm." Knocking a few times, there was a tense silence before shuffling was heard. A few seconds later, Shadow Thomas opened the door and raised a brow.

  
"What?" He asked, Tempest relaxing around his shoulders.

  
Missy eyed Tempest warily, the snake in turn sticking her tongue out at the figment. Shaking his head, Missy looked up at Shadow Thomas. "Can we talk to you? It's kind of important."

  
Shadow Thomas scowled, "How important? I was just about to take Tempest to the Imagination so she can get some food."

  
"It's about the Dragon Witch," Pranks piped up.

  
"..." Stepping aside, Shadow Thomas motioned for them to enter his room. " _In_." As soon as they both entered, he closed the door, leaning against it. "Sit anywhere except for my bed." Doing as he said, the two figments sat down by his desk. Once he nodded, Pranks asked one of the questions that was on both of their minds.

  
"So...what's going on with you and the Dragon Witch?" Missy asked, trying to word it so that Shadow Thomas wouldn't realize they were eavesdropping earlier. "It's pretty clear from the whole monster thing that she knows you."

  
"The witch gave me this body," Shadow Thomas said, holding his hand up for Tempest to slither onto. "Because of that, she had it in her head that I'd willingly work for her."

  
"So you shoved that idea in her face by saving us?" Pranks asked, tilting his head.

  
"That was the idea but clearly, she's _a lot_ more dense than she seems," Shadow Thomas answered, earning a snicker from the figment.

  
"...So she's trying to go after you and...you're going after someone else?" Missy questioned, making sure not to use Ian's name yet.

  
" _Ian_ ," Shadow Thomas muttered. "It's...complicated. At least _now_ it is..."

  
"What's the deal with you and him?" Pranks asked bluntly, earning a jab to his side from Missy.

  
"He turned against me after I spent so long guiding him," Shadow Thomas uttered, looking down at Tempest. In turn, Tempest nuzzled her head up against his chin. "On one hand, I want revenge against him. On the other..." He shook his head and opened the door, " _Never mind_. I need to go get Tempest some food. I'll be back."

  
"Huh? Wait!" Missy yelled, however Shadow Thomas disappeared just as he did so.

  
"Well, so much for that idea," Pranks muttered.

* * *

  
Appearing in a forest deep in the Imagination, Shadow Thomas knelt down and let Tempest slither to the ground. "Alright Tempest, I'll be right here by this tree. Go have fun looking for food, okay?" Tempest looked at him as he sat down and blepped happily before darting past trees and grass. Once he was alone, Shadow Thomas closed his eyes and tried to relax, only for his thoughts to start bothering him again.  
Of the things he was still certain of, it was that he had to deal with the Dragon Witch at some point and that he wanted to fight Ian; less certain was the reason why. Originally, he wanted to fight the scientist - and win - as payback for his betrayal. Now though, it felt more like he wanted to test Ian, memories of himself mentoring the scientist springing forth.

  
Slamming his fist on the ground, he let out a frustrated sigh. This change in what he was thinking was starting to drive him up the wall. "When I was just a voice, it was _simple_ \- say whatever I wanted to at the moment to get others to do my work for me," he said aloud to himself. " _Why_ did that change just because I have a body now?" He picked up a rock off the ground and looked at it before throwing it at the nearest tree. " _Why_ do I keep having second thoughts _now_?"

  
"Because that's all a part of _being_ ," a familiar voice said from behind him. "Human, side, figment, all of them are complicated beings, all with complex lives they live." Startled, Shadow Thomas jumped to his feet, letting out a warning growl upon seeing the Dragon Witch.

  
"What that- are you just looking to be punched now?" Shadow Thomas snarked, clenching his fists.

  
" _Rude_ ," the witch huffed, blowing literal smoke out of her nose. "Though typical, given your current track record. You still owe me."

  
Shadow Thomas's eyes narrowed, "I owe you _nothing_."

  
"I _gave_ you a body," the Dragon Witch snapped, "you owe me your current existence! Now you can either join me _willingly_ or I'll simply _force_ you to."

  
"Or..." Shadow Thomas held up a hand, causing the witch to look at him questioningly, "I can do _this_!" With that said, Shadow Thomas suddenly rushed at her and punched her in the jaw.

  
"Oh you damn- _fine_! We'll do this _your_ way!" The witch yelled, transforming into her dragon form.

  
Seeing that, Shadow Thomas's eyes widened and he took a step back, "Shit." With a roar, the dragon lunged at the stunned shadow, claws and teeth as sharp as knives.

  
By the time Tempest slithered back after hearing the commotion, she came upon the sight of her owner laying unconscious on the ground, the dragon standing over him, claw pressed down on his back. "I gave you a chance to go with me _peacefully_ ," the dragon whispered into his ear. " _This is all on you_."

  
Hissing quietly, Tempest turned and darted off, a specific destination in mind.


	7. Tempest's Determination

Tempest was many things but what she wasn't was dumb. She knew all too well the stories concerning the Dragon Witch; the members of her former den would always tell stories about the witch's great and terrible powers. Said stories always involved a prince of some kind stopping her and saving the day. If a prince is what she needed to save her new companion from the dragon's clutches, then she would search high and low for him.

  
_A companion._

  
That's what he needed, Tempest could see that the moment he picked her up. If she were being honest, she didn't understand most of what he meant by being " _just a voice_ " and " _having a body now_ ". It didn't matter to Tempest though, he was kind to her and even gave her a proper name. In turn Tempest was determined to stay by his side.

  
She didn't know how much time had passed, just that it was slowly starting to get darker out. Despite this, she kept on with her trek, hoping to find some lead to further her current mission. That's when she came upon some distinct doors, similar to the ones she saw earlier, only white and blue instead of black and purple. Realizing that this could lead her to where she needs to go she looked around for someone, preferably a fellow animal, to open one of the doors for her.

  
Her search was cut short by the sound of the doors opening, getting her attention. Standing there was a group of five people, two of which stood out to her; one dressed in royal attire leading her to hope that this person happened to be related to a prince, if not one himself, and a snake-human hybrid. Slithering over, she hissed as loud as she could to get their attention.

  
"What the h-?" Virgil was cut off by Patton, who had stars in his eyes.

  
"Look, it's a cute noodle! Just like Dax!" Patton yelled happily, pointing at Tempest.

  
"Wha-?! I-! _Patton_!" Mendax yelled, pulling his hat down to cover his red face.

  
"Stand back! It could be _dangerous_!" Roman warned, about to summon his sword.

  
"Calm down, Roman," Logan said, putting his hand on Roman's arm. "Judging from the markings, it's a Florida banded water snake; a subspecies of the common water snake, both of which are decidedly _nonvenomous_."

  
If Tempest could speak in their human language, she'd yell at them to pay attention. Seeing as that wasn't the case, she let out another loud hiss again, getting their attention once more. Waiting around, she watched as Mendax kneeled down to look at her better. "What's wrong? Why do you keep hissing?"

  
Tilting her head, Tempest figured she had nothing better to work with and began letting out short, rapid hisses. To her surprise and relief, the hybrid seemed to understand what she was saying, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.

  
"Damn it," Mendax said under his breath. Holding out his hand, he nodded at Tempest encouragingly. After brief hesitation, the snake slithered onto his hand and curled around his arm.

  
"...What just happened?" Roman asked, dumbstruck.

  
"It appears that Mendax is able to understand the snake, most likely due to his nature as a hybrid," Logan suggested, his interest piqued. "Is that correct, Mendax?"

  
"Yeah and things **_didn't_** just go from bad to worse," Mendax said. "The guy we're after - Shadow Thomas or whatever he called himself - this snake says that he was captured by a _dragon_."

  
" _The Dragon Witch_!" Roman yelled assuredly, summoning his sword without realizing it.

  
"Wait a minute! How do we know this isn't some kind of _trap_?" Virgil asked, glancing suspiciously at Tempest. At that, Tempest launched into a hissing fit.

  
"Alright, alright, calm down," Mendax whispered, petting Tempest softly.

  
"What did she just say?" Patton asked.

  
"...Believe me, it'd be better if I _didn't_ repeat it," Mendax said, shaking his head.

* * *

  
When Shadow Thomas awoke, he found himself shackled to a wall, a stabbing pain in his back. Focusing on teleporting back home, he realized that nothing was happening. ' _What the...?_ '

  
"Oh good, you're _finally_ awake!" The voice of the Dragon Witch broke through the haze in his mind, causing him to look up. Standing right in front of him was the witch herself, a twisted grin on her face and a potion bottle in one of her hands. "I know what you're trying to do - my magic is clearly more powerful than yours so no teleporting for you today," she said mockingly, waving a finger in his face.

  
Growling, Shadow Thomas attempted to bite the finger, causing the witch to draw her hand back and look offended. " _Rude_ ," she muttered, holding up the potion bottle. "Whatever. _This_ will fix your attitude."

  
"And just _what_ the hell is that?" Shadow Thomas demanded to know, glaring at the witch.

  
"Ah! You finally speak again too!" The witch said dramatically, following it up with a fit of laughter. "This, dear Shadow, is something that's going to benefit both of us! Open your mouth!" At that, Shadow Thomas clenched his teeth defiantly, daring her to come near him again.

  
Sighing, the Dragon Witch shook her head, "Now now, none of that." Lifting her foot, she slammed the heel of it down on Shadow Thomas's foot, causing him to let out a yell followed by a string of curses. She then took the bottle and shoved it into his mouth, forcefully tilting his head back, ignoring his coughing and gagging until all of the potion was gone. Stepping back, she crossed her arms and watched as he shut his eyes and began to struggle futilely against the shackles.

  
After several minutes of this, his body went slack, the shackles clanging against the wall. Slowly he opened his eyes, now faintly glowing with an eerie green light. Seeing that sent a jolt of glee throughout the witch, "Excellent! Tell me something - _what_ is your goal, Shadow?"

  
"Whatever it is that _you_ command," Shadow Thomas said in a monotone voice, a distant look in his eyes.

  
The Dragon Witch smirked and snapped her fingers, the shackles unlocking as a result. " _Exactly_."


	8. A Plan Unfolds

"Pops, where's Ian?" Virgil asked as soon as he reappeared back in the Mind Palace, the others not far behind.

  
Aiden sat up on one of the couches, having been laying there, using Arlo's lap as a pillow. "He's in the outside world talking to Thomas and Gunther."

  
The anxious side shot him a confused look, "Gunther's here?"

  
"After Thomas told his counterparts what was going on, Gunther found out," Arlo answered, an arm wrapped around Aiden's waist. "He's here because he got worried."

  
"Speaking of - what's got you all riled up, lad?" Aiden asked, looking concerned. "You didn't run into the shadow or the witch, did you?"

  
Virgil shook his head, " _Worse_ \- they apparently ran into each other and...well, the Dragon Witch...captured him."

  
"...Ah fuck," Aiden muttered, standing up from his spot. " _One_ of them causin' trouble is bad enough. Hell knows what she's up to."

* * *

  
"He and the Dragon Witch have some kind of issue with each other?" Gunther asked, sitting in a chair across from Ian and Thomas.

  
Ian nodded his head, "Granted it seems to be more on his part than on hers but that's right."

  
"And then there's the issue he has with _you_ ," Gunther said, gesturing towards Ian himself. "Which is _why_ I'm here in the first place. He's after you so it'd be safe to assume that he'd pop up here looking for you." Another nod from Ian confirmed this.

  
"So an ambush is what you're getting at," Thomas stated.

  
"Exactly," Gunther replied.

  
"Unfortunately that's _not_ going to happen right now," Arlo said as soon as he appeared with Aiden and Virgil, getting the other three's attention.

  
"Guys? What's wrong?" Thomas asked, noticing the worried look on Virgil's face.

  
"The Dragon Witch captured that shadow guy," Virgil said, "and we all know whatever she's up to means trouble."

  
Ian slumped down in his chair as his mind drifted back to earlier.

  
_"That shadow is why I'm here in the first place. Where is he?"_

  
_"I gave you a body! What issue could you possibly have with me?! You ungrateful little-!"_

  
"...We _need_ to rescue him," Ian finally said, drawing their attention to him. "Virgil's right about this; if she's planning something then that's _enough_ of a problem by itself."

  
"...Are you sure about this - about _rescuing_ _him_?" Virgil asked in disbelief.

  
"My issues with him aside, I'm sure. Who the hell knows what that witch could be planning with someone like _him_ in her reach," Ian affirmed.

  
"...Do you guys want me to head to the mindscape with you?" Thomas offered after a moment of silence.

  
The four sides native to the dimension shared a concerned look before Aiden shook his head, " _No_ \- not until we know _what_ she's up to at least."

  
Thomas nodded his head, understanding their concern. "And you Gunther - are you going to stick around for a while?"

  
"If you want me to," Gunther said, "just don't expect me to be able to help them unless they're out in this world. I'm not about to brute force my way into your head."

* * *

  
"Now then Shadow, tell me something _useful_ ," the Dragon Witch said, lounging around on a extravagant golden throne. "Is there anyone of benefit that I should take prisoner? Someone to hold over the heads of those pesky " _heroes_ "?"

  
Shadow Thomas leaned against the side of the throne, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he stood there, deep in thought. His thoughts were a jumbled, hazy mess that served only to frustrate him. However, two names eventually came forth, followed by faces to go with them. "Missy and Pranks."

  
"Hmm? What was that?" The witch asked, looking over at him with a curious expression.

  
"Their names - Missy and Pranks," Shadow Thomas said, staring at the floor blankly. "They're over in the dark mindscape but their home is in the Imagination."

  
A grin spread across the witch's face, "Is that so? Well then, hop to it!"

  
" _What?_ " Shadow Thomas looked up at her.

  
"Go and bring them here," the Dragon Witch commanded, pointing at the door. " _Now!_ "

* * *

  
"Missy? Missy. Miiiiissssyyyyy," Pranks drawled out, poking the sleeping figment in the side of his head. A pillow hitting him stopped him in his tracks.

  
" _What_ , Pranks? What is it?" Missy grumbled, taking his pillow back and subsequently shoving his head underneath it, trying futilely to go back to sleep.

  
" _You know who_ has been gone for a while," Pranks said, yanking the pillow from Missy's hands. "You think he's coming back?"

  
"I don't know why he _wouldn't_ ," Missy said, trying to swipe the pillow back from Pranks. "This _is_ his place after all."

  
" _Still_..." Pranks trailed off in thought.

  
"Pranks?" Missy asked, looking up at him.

  
"It wouldn't hurt to at least _see_ if we can go back to the Imagination, _right_?" Pranks asked. "If we can, it'd be safer than staying here and trying to reason with him."

  
"...I _can't_ believe I'm saying this but - you have a good point," Missy muttered, getting up from the bed. As soon as Missy said this though, they heard the front entrance to the stronghold open, causing them to let out twin groans of frustration. "So much for that! You and your big mouth."

  
" _Me?_ " Pranks shot an offended look at his friend.

  
"It was _your_ idea so yeah, _you_ ," Missy snapped back.

  
"And what, pray tell, was this idea of yours?" Shadow Thomas's voice rang out, the dark side appearing in the doorway, startling the two figments.

  
"Nothing, nothing! Just talking about a video game, that's all!" Pranks said quickly, putting his hands up in surrender. "...Hey, a-are you alright? Your eyes are looking kind of _weird_."

  
" _Hey yeah_ ," Missy said, looking at him suspiciously. "They were red before. What gives with the sudden green?"

  
"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Shadow Thomas said, waving a hand dismissively. In a moment though, the same hand began to glow faintly.

  
"What-?" Both of them were cut off by the sound of him snapping his fingers. A mist-like substance appeared around the two almost immediately; soon enough they were lying on the floor unconscious.

  
" _Lights out._ "


	9. A Message

The first thing Pryce wasn't expecting to see when he woke up from a nap was a scroll sitting on his face. Furthermore, he wasn't expecting it to be from the Dragon Witch herself, the seal conveying that perfectly. With a quick look around his room to make sure there were no other surprises left by her, he sat up and gave the scroll a once-over. After determining that it was exactly as it appeared and not a trap, he shrugged and carefully undid the seal. Upon reading the scroll, Pryce's brows furrowed in anger.

  
_"Pryce,_

  
_I know by now that you and Roman are working to foil my plans yet again. _

  
_However, this time will be different and I look forward to crushing you both._

  
_Come face me if you dare._

  
_If not, I'll just seek you out myself._

  
_-D.W."_

  
Pryce had to resist throwing aside the scroll and stood up, grabbing his sword from beside the nightstand. "Blasted witch," he muttered to himself. Clenching the scroll in his hand, he stormed out of his room and walked down the hall towards Roman's. Knocking quickly, he heard muffled footsteps on the other side of the door.

  
"Yes?" Roman asked as he opened the door. "Pryce? What-?"

  
"Here. It's important," Pryce said, handing the scroll to him.

  
Roman tilted his head slightly in confusion until he noticed the seal of the Dragon Witch. Frowning, the creative side quickly unraveled the scroll, eyeing scanning over it. Looking up in concern at his fellow prince, Roman handed the scroll back to him. "Where did you find that?"

  
"Woke up to it staring me in the face," Pryce grumbled. "Didn't see or feel any sign of _her_ actually being here though."

  
"I'm not sure if we should be grateful for that or not..." Roman trailed off, clearly thinking about something. "We need to think up a battle plan."

* * *

  
"Did you deliver my message?" The Dragon Witch asked as she heard the door open, not looking up from her cauldron.

  
"Yes," Shadow Thomas said, sitting down on the nearest stool. "I made sure one of them would see it no matter what."

  
"Good, good," the witch crooned, breathing fire into the cauldron itself, stepping back as flames shot back up into the air.

  
"... _What_ are you creating?" Shadow Thomas asked, studying the last flame as it dissipated.

  
" _Dinner_ ," she replied dryly, stirring the contents of the cauldron around. "I may be a witch but that _doesn't_ mean I'm just going to let my new captives go hungry."

  
"Want me to take it down to them once it's done?" Shadow Thomas asked, looking a bit bored at the moment.

  
"Yes of course, my dear Shadow," the witch said, moving away from the cauldron. "After you do that, come back up immediately. We have to go over the plan for once those pesky princes show up."

  
"Got it," Shadow Thomas muttered, keeping his eyes trained on her.

* * *

  
Missy and Pranks awoke to the sound of a key and a door being opened. Walking into view was Shadow Thomas, a tray with two bowls in hand. Setting the tray down before them, he conjured up a water bottle for each of them as well. "Here. It's rabbit stew."

  
Pranks eyed the bowl before him warily, using the spoon to move the stew around. "...This isn't poisoned, right?"

  
"She had no reason to poison it," Shadow Thomas stated, crossing his arms.

  
"She _also_ didn't have any reason to send monsters after us for trespassing," Missy snarked. " _What_ did she do to you?"

  
Shadow Thomas's eyes narrowed at that while Pranks looked between the two nervously. "The hell do you mean?"

  
"Ever since we first ran into you, you've been going on about working _against_ her. Now here you are working _for_ her instead," Missy pointed out.

  
"And ya know, there's the whole different eye color thing from earlier," Pranks said, trying to help get Missy's point across.

  
Shadow Thomas was silent for a while, "...Just eat your dinner."

  
"Not until you answer us," Missy said defiantly.

  
A shrug was his response as Shadow Thomas walked back towards the door, "Fine. Don't complain when it goes cold then."

  
"Hey, hear me out for a second Missy," Pranks said, raising one of his hands. "What if it's mind control?"

  
" _What?_ " Missy asked in disbelief, both unaware of Shadow Thomas standing still as soon as Pranks said that. "I think you've been reading too many comics _again_."

  
"That is besides the point," Pranks responded. "It makes sense to me. After all, Ms. Big Bad is a _witch_ and witches usually make _potions_ , right? For all we know she could have made some kind of potion to control him!" Shadow Thomas let out a warning growl, promptly quieting the two down for the moment. Once he was certain that they would keep their mouths shut, he stalked out of the room, slamming and locking the door behind him.

  
Missy glanced over at Pranks, "I said it before and I'll say it again. You and your big mouth."

* * *

  
"So what's the plan, Ro?" Virgil asked, perched on top of Roman's desk. He and the other three were gathered around in the prince's room for the night.

  
"Pryce and I are still working on that," Roman answered, sitting on the edge of his bed. "We need a chance to catch that foul witch off guard."

  
Sitting beside him, Logan was busy studying the message, "...Perhaps I could make a suggestion?"

  
"I'm all ears, Specs," Roman replied, looking over his shoulder at the scroll.

  
"She is clearly expecting the two of you to show up. However, she would have no reason to expect _everyone else_ showing up, especially not since her magic allowed her the upper hand previously," Logan stated.

  
"So...kinda like an ambush?" Patton piped up from behind the two, crawling out from under the blankets, a Blu-Ray case in hand.

  
" ** _Not_** more like going there guns blazing," Mendax answered, sitting next to Virgil on top of the desk. "She ** _doesn't_** have it coming after all."

  
Logan blinked, "We don't have any firearms though?"

  
Virgil just shook his head while Roman snickered, "Figure of speech, L."

  
"Regardless, it sounds like a grand idea!" Roman suddenly exclaimed, jumping up from the bed. "She'll never know what hit her!"


	10. Setbacks

The next morning, Shadow Thomas awoke to the sound of the Dragon Witch calling his name. Forcing himself out of bed, he snapped his fingers, quickly changing into his normal clothes. Walking through the halls to the entrance of the witch's lair, he came upon her waiting at the bottom of the spiral staircase. Besides her stood Missy and Pranks, both of them in shackles and glaring at the witch.

  
"The hell did I miss?" Shadow Thomas grumbled tiredly.

  
"Nothing yet," the witch said, clearly in a happy mood. She then pointed towards one of the windows. "Go look."

  
Rolling his eyes, Shadow Thomas walked over and peaked out. In the distance, he could make out what appeared to be two figures. "Is that-?"

  
" _Yes_ ," the Dragon Witch hissed out happily. "The princes. They're walking right into my trap."

  
"You've been beaten back by Pryce how many times by now?" Missy remarked, sounding annoyed.

  
"Yeah, if anyone can stop you, it's him," Pranks added confidently.

  
"Oh don't make me laugh," she responded gleefully. " _Why_ do you think I had Shadow take you both prisoner? You're going to be used to my advantage, little figments."

  
_"Come out here witch!"_

  
"...And there's my cue," the witch said. "Wait for my summons, Shadow."

  
"Don't get stabbed," Shadow Thomas muttered as the witch slammed open the door.

* * *

  
In the field beyond the witch's home stood the two princes. The plan has gone through some quick changes; Logan having brought up the idea of changing it to an ambush, as Patton inadvertently suggested earlier. Teal and Ian's agreement with the logical side pushed the rest of them into going along with it. As a result, the others were waiting behind the few scattered trees, ready for the moment to strike.

  
"Well! Nice to see my message hadn't fallen on deaf ears!" The Dragon Witch exclaimed, appearing before the two in a puff of smoke, startling them briefly.

  
"Where is he, witch?" Roman snapped, sword already drawn.

  
Feigning confusion, the witch merely looked at them, "Where is whom? Be more specific."

  
" _The shadow_. We _know_ you captured him," Pryce said, glaring at her.

  
"...Oh! _Him_!" She said mockingly, snickering at how easy it was to rile the two up. "Don't worry, I have him under control - _very_ doubtful that he'll be getting in the way of our fight."

  
"That's _not_ what we mean. Bring him here _or else_ ," Roman threatened, pointing his sword in her direction. The witch however remained unfazed by this display.

  
"Uh uh uh," she said, wagging her finger in his face. "Neither of you are in _any_ position to be making demands."

  
Just then the two princes looked at each other and nodded. While Roman rushed at the witch, ready to strike, Pryce yelled out to the others. " _Get her!_ "

  
"What the-?!" The witch jumped out of the way of Roman's sword only see the rest of the group appear, ready to attack. " _Oh you little_ - _!_ " She was cut off by a stabbing pain in her arm. Looking down, she saw a switchblade sticking out. With a growl, she ripped out the blade and tossed it to the ground before looking up, only to come face to face with another blade; this time it was Pryce's sword. Dodging out of the way with seconds to spare, she used her tail to trip him up.

  
" _Shadow!_ "

  
In a burst of dark magic, Shadow Thomas appeared before them, jumping into action immediately. Using the same spell that kept Ian and the others out of the dark side of the mindscape, a barrier stood between them. " _You_!?" Ian shouted in confusion more than anything else. Shadow Thomas merely stared blankly at him before refocusing his attention on the witch.

  
"You called?" Shadow Thomas muttered towards the Dragon Witch.

  
"I did," she answered, glaring at the group before her.

   
"You coward! Stop hiding behind this barrier!" Roman snapped at the witch, receiving a warning growl in response.

  
"Like I said - you're not in any position to be making demands," the witch snapped.

  
"The hell did you do to him?" Ian demanded, nodding over at Shadow Thomas. Appearing from under his scarf was Tempest, the snake staring straight at her friend.

  
"He was having an existential crisis so I merely helped by giving his mind an attitude adjustment, that's all," the witch said almost casually, pointedly ignoring the growing looks of shock and disgust on her enemies' faces. Tempest in particular wanted desperately to attack the witch; however another part of her kept her back, aware that being small and non-venomous, there was little she could do at the moment. Begrudgingly, she stayed where she was and hoped that something would work out.

  
"Now back to business. Shadow, bring _them_ here," the witch said. With a snap of his fingers, Missy and Pranks appeared, looking just as startled by that as the others were.

  
"Missy? Pranks?" Andy asked in disbelief.

  
"Hey guys..." Pranks muttered, nodding towards Andy and the other figments while Missy glared at the witch. Regardless of that, the witch swiftly moved behind the two, resting her claws on both of their throats.

  
" _Now_. You all have one of two choices," the Dragon Witch suddenly said in a cold tone. "You either _surrender_ to me or I _kill_ these two where we stand." That statement sent a collective chill down everyone's spines and even gave Shadow Thomas pause.

  
Under normal circumstances, the two princes would have refused to surrender and gone for a tag team attack against the witch. This time was different though, here she had innocent hostages to use against them and the very thought made Roman's blood boil. In the moment, time seemed like a blur to everyone there; Roman rushed at the witch in a blind rage despite the protests of the others.

  
Just as quickly, the witch moved her claws only to find that Missy and Pranks were gone as was the barrier; Shadow Thomas had surprisingly grabbed the two figments and threw them back behind himself, his eyes briefly flashing from green to red and back again before dilating from the sudden pain he felt. The witch's claws slashed him, leaving behind several bleeding wounds on his arms and torso. Although taken aback by this, the witch had no time to react, instead jumping away as she heard the sound of Roman's sword swinging through the air towards her.

  
Said sword hit the ground between the Dragon Witch and Shadow Thomas with a loud clang; all the while the witch responded in kind, breathing fire in Roman's direction. " _Roman_!" Virgil yelled, moving quickly and grabbing the prince, yanking him back just in time. Had it not been for the anxious side, there was no doubt he would have ended up being torched right alongside his sword.

  
"I-! _You_!" The witch yelled, her attention snapping towards Shadow Thomas, who had collapsed to his knees in shock, only now vaguely aware that he was bleeding. Faintly, he felt something slither up his legs and into his pants pocket.

  
As for Missy and Pranks, they were the least of the witch's concerns at the moment. Ignoring them entirely, the witch stalked over to Shadow Thomas and roughly lifted him by one of his arms. " _Don't_ you dare go dying on me yet, boy," she muttered to him before turning her attention back to the group.

  
Breathing out more fire as a warning, she surrounded herself, Shadow Thomas, and the two figments in a glowing circle of green light. While the others were distracted by her warning flames, she chanted a spell under her breath and in an instant, they reappeared back in her lair. Shoving Missy and Pranks back into the room from yesterday night, she locked the door and picked up the now unconscious being before her. "Looks like an extra dose of that potion is in order," she muttered as she carried Shadow Thomas up the stairs. "For now though, I'll need to make sure you don't bleed out." All the while, Tempest did her best not to move and draw attention to herself, silently cursing the witch.

* * *

  
Later on in the Mind Palace, the group had dispersed. Roman had stormed off to his room, his worried boyfriends not far behind. Aiden and Arlo had led Ian to their room to speak with him, the scientist clearly troubled by what they had all witnessed. Andy was busy trying to calm Pryce down, the other prince almost as angry as Roman, even if not outwardly showing it. That left Teal, Dayd, and Remy to check in with Thomas and Gunther in the outside world.

  
"Hey Thomas, you uh...might want to sit down," Remy said as soon as he appeared. Naturally, he was met with a look of confusion. "Just trust me on that...hey, where's Gunther?"

  
Doing as he was told, Thomas sat down on the couch, concern etched on his face. "Something came up and he had to head back home. _What happened?_ " He asked as soon as Teal and Dayd joined them, both of the figments looking none too happy.

  
"Well, there was kind of an... _incident_ involving that Dragon Witch," Teal started. "We tried to ambush her and things...went south. _Really fast_."

  
"She tried to kill Missy and Pranks," Dayd added, a scowl on his face. "Shadow Thomas got in the way and she ended up attacking _him_ instead."

  
"What?!" Thomas yelled, standing up in shock.

  
"She almost Bar-B-Qued Roman while she was at it," Remy said, absentmindedly summoning a Starbucks cup. "Virgil saved him but his sword wasn't so lucky."

  
Thomas collapsed back down to the couch and stared at them in disbelief. Shaking his head, he spoke up. "Next time you guys go to confront this Dragon Witch, I'm going with you."

  
" _What_ ," Remy deadpanned, staring at him.

  
"Thomas-" Teal was interrupted by Dayd.

  
"Thomas, that's too dangerous!" Dayd said firmly, parental instincts kicking in.

  
"You guys are _my family_ and she's causing trouble in _my_ _mind_ ," Thomas replied, "I'm going with you next time and that's _final_."


	11. Discussions

"I had things under control!" Roman snapped, flopping down onto the nearest bean bag chair.

  
"Your sword is torched and _you_ almost were too!" Virgil snapped back at him, worry clear in his voice. "That's _not_ having things under control!"

  
Roman grimaced at the thought of his sword, "Speaking of..." Focusing, he held out his hand and conjured up said weapon, as good as new. "Just another reason to defeat that foul beast!"

  
"Roman, _I swear_..." Virgil groaned in exasperation, sitting down next to him.

  
"You _don't_ understand!" Roman insisted, putting the sword aside for now. "It's part of _my job_ to defeat evil like her! But I haven't and now things have gotten out of hand! She's _never_ outright tried to _kill_ any of her hostages before!"

  
"...She's taken hostages _before_?" Virgil asked in disbelief, staring at Roman.

  
"She has," Roman grimaced, "unfortunately."

* * *

  
Thomas groaned at the signs of a headache coming on as he lied in his bed. It was just a bit past noon but he felt exhausted, no doubt a result of the earlier skirmish between his family and the Dragon Witch. Closing his eyes, he felt his body begin to slip off into sleep as he focused on the Mind Palace. Once he opened them again, he took in his surroundings; he was in the commons of the Palace and took note that it was quiet.

  
Sitting down on the closest chair, he felt a presence next to him soon enough. "Thomas?" Logan's voice called to him. Looking over, he watched as the logical side took a seat on the couch, a questioning look on Logan's face.

  
"Hey Logan," Thomas said, nodding his head. "I heard about what happened earlier. Is everyone alright?"

  
"Given the current circumstances, everyone is well enough," Logan stated. "What about you though?"

  
Thomas merely shrugged his shoulders, "This mess started giving me a headache and physically? It's really exhausting."

  
"Would you say that this is the same kind of exhaustion as when Ian was running amuck?" Logan asked, raising a brow.

  
"Yeah," Thomas muttered, a distant look in his eye. "Where is he anyway?"

  
"Ian is upstairs with Aiden and Arlo," Logan answered. "He was definitely bothered by the incident earlier involving the witch and this shadow version of you."

  
"And the others?" Thomas asked, focusing his attention back on Logan.

  
"Virgil is speaking with Roman, I was helping Mendax make sure Patton was doing alright; according to him Patton was lying about not being bothered by what we saw. As for our figment companions, Andy is talking with Pryce about what the next course of action should be, I'm unaware of what Teal and Dayd are up to, and Remy is...well, Remy," Logan answered, hearing the figment yelling from upstairs the word " _hey!_ ".

  
"There are _two_ other things that I'm concerned about," Logan added after Remy's brief interruption.

  
Thomas sat up at that, "Yeah? What's up?"

  
"Well, for one thing, we initially found out about the shadow's capture by the witch from a snake-"

  
"A snake?" Thomas interrupted, "like...a talking one or something?"

  
Logan sighed, "Not _technically_ \- it appears that due to Mendax's status as a snake hybrid, he can understand them. Back on track, this snake - _Tempest_ , according to Mendax, - she was with Ian during the earlier confrontation but now it appears that she's gone missing. From what Mendax got out of her, she's taken a liking to the shadow."

  
Thomas blinked, "I...see. The other thing?"

  
"The witch mentioned something...really troubling. According to her, the shadow was having an, and I quote, " _existential crisis_ " before she " _helped by giving his mind an attitude adjustment_ "," Logan stated, a deep frown on his face. "I have a strong hunch that Missy and Pranks will be able to shed some light on this."

  
Thomas slumped back down in his seat," Geeze...I should have come here sooner..."

  
"Do not blame yourself, Thomas," Logan said, "we were doing our best to keep you out of this for your safety."

* * *

  
"Ian..." Arlo said worriedly, watching as the scientist paced around the shared bedroom. Leaning against the door was Aiden, the other side watching him with concern.

  
"We still need to rescue him - and the other two as well," Ian muttered, a frown on his face. "This _isn't_ just about keeping the witch from using his powers anymore."

  
"What are you getting at?" Aiden asked, never taking his eyes off the scientist.

  
"You _know_ what I mean," Ian said.

  
"I want to hear it _from you_ so I know we're all on the same page," Aiden added.

  
"...He arguably fucked up _just as much_ as I did by influencing my mind and my actions over the years. Now he's stuck working for that witch and threw himself in the way of danger _just to save_ _the other two_ ," Ian pointed out. "I'm still ticked off at him, yes, but I'd be a massive hypocrite if I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt - a second chance, just as Gunther gave me. You two said it yourselves - _things change and people change_."

  
"So we _are_ all on the same page then," Arlo said, mirroring Aiden's thoughts. "We rescue the three of them and let Shadow make the choice for himself - live in peace or fight against us."

  
Ian nodded his head, "Exactly."

* * *

  
"We _need_ to get out of here," Pranks muttered, nudging the bowl of food the witch left aside.

  
"I'm _aware_ of that," Missy said, trying not to snap at him. "We need some kind of plan first."

  
"And get Shadow out of here too," Pranks said, looking at nothing in particular, a tired look in his eyes.

  
"That's part of the plan...whatever we go with," Missy answered, hardly acknowledging his own food, focused more on the shackles the witch left them in. The sound of the door creaking caused them both to look up in alarm. After a tense few seconds, the door barely budged more than a few inches, a small snake pushing with all its might against the wood that had accidentally been left open a crack in the dragon's haste.

  
Pranks blinked, "Is...is that-?"

  
"It's that snake Shadow found," Missy said in disbelief, watching as Tempest slithered over to them.

  
"How'd _you_ get here?" Pranks asked, putting his hands down in an offer for Tempest to slither onto them.

  
"It must've followed Shadow and the witch here," Missy said, watching Tempest carefully. "That makes the most sense."

  
Tempest merely slithered up Pranks's arm and curled around his shoulders. The witch had noticed her peeking out of Shadow's pants pocket and tried to grab her. With a warning hiss and a bluff attack, Tempest had evaded her and disappeared from sight.She was still determined to rescue Shadow but for now, she needed a safe place to sleep and by chance had stumbled upon this room.

  
' _These humans are the closest he has to friends_ ,' Tempest thought to herself. ' _For now, I will stay with them_.'


	12. Witch's Lair - Part 1

"Urgh," Shadow Thomas groaned as he awoke, sitting up in a cot situated near the door to the Dragon Witch's potion room.

  
"Good, good, you're awake," the witch's voice rang through his ears, causing him to look around. By the cauldron was the witch herself, spell book laying open on the table next to her.

  
"What...happened?" He asked warily, looking down when he felt pain flowing through his body. To his surprise, he found bandages covering his arms and disappearing past his t-shirt sleeves.

  
"There was a... _minor incident_ ," the Dragon Witch muttered, turning back to her spell book. "You went a bit... _out of it_ , so to speak. To the point that you actually _turned against me_."

  
" _What?_ " Shadow Thomas asked incredulously, looking at her in disbelief. "I didn't injure you, did I?"

  
"No, no, of course not my dear. _Yourself_ on the other hand.. Not to worry though, I'm brewing up a healing potion for you that should stomp out most of the pain you might be feeling," the witch lied with ease.

  
A thought then struck through his mind like a bolt of lightning. Forcing himself up, he ignored the screeching his body was doing in an attempt to get him to sit back down. Barely casting a glance at the look of disapproval on the witch's face, he tried to walk towards the door, stumbling and leaning against it after a few steps. "Stupid body..."

  
"And _where_ do you think you're _going_?" She scolded, walking over to him and placing her hands on his shoulders, marching him back to the cot. "You try to walk any further without being healed and you'll tumble down the steps. Then you'll _really_ have a problem."

  
Shadow Thomas let out a tired growl, glaring up at her defiantly. "Where's Missy and Pranks?"

  
"The two figments? They're back downstairs, _completely unharmed_ ," the witch said, gritting her teeth on the last word.

  
" _I'll_ be the judge of t _hat_ ," Shadow Thomas spat out, slipping away from her grip.

  
" _Don't_ make this harder than it needs to be... _again_ ," the witch muttered, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and yanking him back towards the cauldron. Picking up an empty bottle, she carefully poured the liquid into it. "Here. Drink this to heal up," she said as she shoved the potion into his hands.

  
Shadow Thomas growled at her, "If it'll get you off my back then _fine_." Eyeing the concoction, the shadow drank it quickly, feeling the healing effects near instantaneously. He handed the empty bottle back to her and turned back toward the door. However, the minute he took a single step, his vision began to go fuzzy as he blacked out.

  
The witch merely tsked in response and put the bottle aside. Lifting him up, she moved him back to the cot. "Now _sleep_ my Shadow and when you wake up, your mind will be _all better_."

* * *

  
The minute the door opened to reveal the witch standing there with two plates of food, Tempest's head shot up from its perch on Pranks's shoulder. ' _Now's my chance..._ ' She thought to herself as she slithered to the ground, careful to remain hidden in the dark areas of the room. Silently moving quickly, she sneaked past the witch, whose attention was focused entirely on the figments before her.

  
' _There must be a master key somewhere in this place. The humans aren't going to get free unless I find it myself._ ' With that thought in mind, Tempest gazed around before just how big the witch's home was hit her. '...I'm gonna be here a while.' She was jolted back to reality when she heard a door slam shut and the witch stomped past her, muttering under her breath.

  
With no other option at the moment, she slithered after the witch, taking care to stay just out of sight. To her surprise, the witch didn't return to the potion room but instead headed further into the lair. After several minutes, the witch stopped before a large wooden door embedded with jewels of all kinds. Upon following her inside, Tempest was greeted with the sight of a canopy bed in the middle of the room along with several piles of gold coins and other treasures. ' _Of course, a dragon always has some kind of treasure hoard..._ '

  
While the witch went about her business, Tempest crept along silently, keeping an eye out for anything that even remotely resembled a key. After more than one close call while looting through the treasure piles, something near the bed caught the snake's attention. Moving to investigate, she found what she was looking for, mostly hidden under a robe.

  
' _Well...it's a key; I just hope it can free those humans._ ' Without another thought, Tempest grabbed the key in her mouth and darted under the bed just as the witch's foot came down near the robe. ' _Too close, too close! Time to get out of here!_ ' As quick as she could, Tempest made a beeline for the door just as it was closing. Escaping the room with her tail brushing against the door, she didn't risk looking back.

  
Making her way back to the room Missy and Pranks were being held in, Tempest let out a mental sigh of relief upon seeing the door was cracked open just enough. ' _Tight squeeze but worth it,_ ' she remarked to herself. Slithering through the door, she looked around the room as a precaution before going over to the two figments.

  
"Huh?" Pranks blinked as he felt something slither onto his leg. "Oh, hey bud- _What the_?" He did a double take as he noticed something in the snake's mouth. Holding his hand out, he looked at her expectantly. "Whatcha got there?"

  
Both figments stared in disbelief as Tempest dropped a key into Pranks's hand. " _No way_..." Missy uttered as he eyed the key.

  
"...You're not a normal snake, _are you_?" Pranks asked, eyes wide as Tempest merely looked at them both proudly. Wasting no time, he turned his attention to the shackles around his wrists, hoping that the key would do the trick. With a telltale click, one of the shackles opened and in an excited rush, he hurriedly undid the other before moving to the ones on his ankles. Once he was free, he moved over towards Missy, freeing the other figment and pocketing the key.

  
" _Finally_ ," Missy muttered, rubbing his sore wrists. "Clearly Shadow had the right idea in taking that snake in...just not in the way he probably thought."

  
"Yeah, I'll say," Pranks agreed, reaching towards Tempest and gently petting her, the snake looking pleased. "Good snake. Now lets go find Shadow and get the hell out of here."

  
"Best idea I've heard in a while," Missy remarked.


	13. Witch's Lair - Part 2

"...Up there?" Pranks asked, gazing at the spiral staircase in the middle of the main room.

  
"Looks like it," Missy said, watching at Tempest nodded her head, the snake still sitting around Pranks's shoulders.

  
"Alright, let's go then," Pranks said, rushing ahead up the stairs.

  
"Be careful!" Missy warned, following him quickly. "I don't need you tripping on the stairs!"

  
"Aw, I love you too," Pranks snickered, practically feeling Missy rolling his eyes at him through the back of his head.

  
Upon reaching the door at the top, they were surprised to find it unlocked. More so, they were surprised to see Shadow Thomas up and about, his injuries looking nearly healed. Tempest herself tensed at the sight, taking note of the fact that he clearly heard them by now but made no attempt to acknowledge them.

  
"...Hey Shadow...you uh- _are you_ _alright_?" Pranks asked, sharing a nervous glance with Missy.

  
When he didn't respond verbally or even look over at them, Missy tried his luck this time. "We _need_ to get out of here before that dragon bitch comes back." Yet still there was no response, just Shadow Thomas standing over by the witch's spell book. Taking matters into her own scales, Tempest slithered to the ground and over to her friend. She hissed as loud as possible, causing Shadow Thomas to finally look away from the book.

  
" _Tempest_..." He muttered as he kneeled down, placing his hand out for her to slither onto it and up his arm. Petting her carefully, he whispered the words " _good snake_ ", causing her to hiss happily. However, this moment was short lived once a yell was heard from downstairs.

  
" _WHO LET THEM OUT?! SHADOW!_"

  
"... _Oh crap_ ," Pranks muttered, glancing towards the door as loud footsteps were heard coming up the stairs.

  
"Shadow, _do something_!" Missy hissed through gritted teeth. As soon as he did, the door slammed opened, revealing a ticked off witch. As the witch glared at the trio, her gaze fell upon the snake Shadow Thomas was holding.

  
" _The snake_ ," she said, " _of course_." In turn, Tempest hissed at the witch and slithered up Shadow Thomas's arm, sitting across his shoulders and shooting a look at her, as if daring the witch to come near either of them.

  
With a growl, she glared at Shadow Thomas, receiving a glare right back. "Get rid of that snake before I do it myself."

  
" _No_ ," was all he said.

  
" _What.did.you.just.say?_ " The witch ground out, tension quickly filling the room.

  
"You heard me!" Shadow Thomas snapped. "Tempest _isn't_ going anywhere."

  
The witch's eye began to twitch as she glared between him and her spell book. ' _I followed all the directions for those potion exactly. I-_ ' She stopped mid-thought as a note from the book's original owner came to mind.

  
_* Important: Although the above potions work as intended, there is a troublesome issue that I've yet to find a workaround for. It appears that if a creature is strong-willed, the effects of the potions are weakened. Variations on how much the potions are affected depend on the test subject itself._

  
' _If I have to put in the extra work to break him then so be it_,' the witch thought to herself. Before she could do anything, however, a shout from outside got everyone's attention.

  
" _Dragon Witch! Come out here now!_"

  
"Oh now what?!" The witch screeched, marching over to the single window the cauldron sat under. To her confusion, she saw Pryce outside, no sign of any of the others around. With a huff, she grabbed Missy and Pranks by their wrists and dragged them down the stairs with her.

  
"Hey!" Pranks yelled.

  
"Quiet you!" The witch snapped as she threw the door, quickly grabbing him again before he could think to make a run for it. Marching outside with the two figments, she stood before the prince. "Back _again_ I see."

  
Pryce merely glared at her, his arms crossed. "I'm here to make a deal with you."

  
At that, the witch barked out a laugh, "Oh, _now_ you want to make a deal?"

  
"That's right," Pryce said firmly, never taking his eyes off of her. "You let those two go and I'll surrender to you."

  
"What?!" Pranks yelled in shock.

  
"Are you crazy?!" Missy shouted at the same time.

  
"Shut your mouths already!" The Dragon Witch snapped, blowing smoke out of her nose as a warning. Looking back at Pryce, she glared back at him. "And _how_ would I know that your little friends _aren't_ waiting to strike like before?"

  
"Because they _don't_ even know I'm here," Pryce said. He then took his sword in hand, sheath and all, and held it out to her. "As proof that I'm not planning anything, I offer my sword to you as well. _Just let them go_."

  
The witch stared down at the sword, taking a bit of time to contemplate the offer presented before her. After minutes that felt more like hours, she shoved Missy and Pranks forward before taking the sword. "Shadow! Come here and drag this uppity prince inside for me!"

  
In a flash of dark magic, Shadow Thomas stood behind Pryce, forcing the prince's arms back and holding his wrists together while he placed them into shackles. While Pryce was being led inside, the witch breathed just enough fire to get the other two figments to start running away. " _Where's that snake?_ " She asked as she turned to follow Shadow Thomas, an accusatory tone to her voice.

  
As if on cue, Tempest poked her head out of Shadow Thomas's pants pocket and hissed at the witch. " _Tempest_ ," Shadow Thomas began, continuing to push Pryce along into the witch's lair, "is right here, where I can keep an eye on her. I already made it clear that she's _not_ going anywhere."

  
' _We'll see about that_,' the witch thought to herself, following the two. ' _For right now though, I have a new treasure to add to my collection._' As that thought flowed through her mind, her grip on the sword tightened.

  
Unbeknownst to both of them, Pryce wasn't worried one bit. _'All according to plan so far...'_


	14. History Repeats

"Andy!" Said figment nearly jumped a foot in the air as his bedroom door was slammed open, a worried prince standing there.

  
"Geeze Roman, give a guy a heart attack why don't ya!?" Andy shouted as he sat back down in his desk chair. "What's wrong?"

  
"Pryce is _gone_! He went to confront the Dragon Witch and the shadow by _himself_!" Roman yelled, reaching for the figment's arm and pulling him back up. "If we leave now, we can catch up to him so he won't be alone in the fight against them!"

  
Andy shook his arm out of Roman's grip, "Cool it for a minute, alright?" As Roman opened his mouth to speak again, Andy cut him off. "Yeah, I know, that's ironic considering who it's coming from. Look, Pryce and I came up with a plan and we ran it by Ian."

  
" _What_ plan? And _who else_ knows about this so-called plan?" Roman asked, looking confused.

  
"Just Ian and Thomas so far. Here's the deal - Pryce is suppose to act like he's surrendering to the witch in exchange for Missy and Pranks being freed. That's where Ian comes in; he gave Pryce a communicator to keep in contact with him - it's small enough that Pryce can hide it from sight. Depending on what happens, we're working off from there."

  
"And _when_ were you guys planning on telling the rest of us about this?" Roman asked, crossing his arms.

  
"Literally as soon as we get word from Pryce about what the witch decided," Andy said.

  
"And everyone calls _me_ reckless," Roman muttered.

  
"That's because you are," Andy snarked.

  
" _Hey!_ "

* * *

  
"So..." Pryce began, looking around the room he was being kept in, "I see you're looking... _better_ since the previous encounter with that witch."

  
Shadow Thomas merely remained silent, sitting on a chair across from him. He had been placed on guard duty while the Dragon Witch attended to her treasure hoard. Tempest was still resting around his neck, fully aware that her friend's mind wasn't in the right state at the time but not about to leave him alone once more.

  
Sighing, Pryce tried again, needing the other to leave so he could activate the communicator hidden under his sash without issue. "You know, once she gets a new treasure, she's _usually_ gone for at least a few _hours_. You don't have to stay in here with me; you can go do whatever and come back right before she realizes anything."

  
Tempest raised her head upon hearing that and glanced up at Shadow Thomas. He was still silent but he now had a contemplative look on his face. In his head, it was like things were split in half and both halves were fighting each other. On one hand, there were thoughts of going against the witch and stomping her into the dirt while on the other, the thoughts were forcefully yelling at him to obey what she said. While the second half was louder, the first half felt much more normal to him.

  
"...She got you good with that mind control crap, I see," Pryce said after a moment of silence. Although a glare was shot his way, he continued, "I know from first hand experience."

  
Finally, Shadow Thomas spoke, "The hell are you going on about?"

  
Pryce let out a bitter laugh as a memory came to the forefront of his thoughts, "You're _not_ the first person she's controlled and unless she's stopped, you're certainly not the last either."

  
"...Since you want to talk so much, tell me what you know then," Shadow Thomas demanded, leaning back in the chair.

  
"It happened a few years ago," Pryce began.

* * *

  
_"Hey, watch where you're swinging that oversized kitchen knife!" Andy yelled, dodging out of the way of Pryce's sword. He had heard murmurs throughout his home that the Dragon Witch was up to no good again and that the prince who usually stopped her was nowhere to be seen. In a panic, the inhabitants stuck living near her territory begged for help from the prince's rival. Although reluctant, Andy eventually agreed, curiosity eating at him to find out what happened._

  
_"Stop moving, you cretin!" Pryce yelled, rushing at Andy in a rage. However, Andy once more dodged, this time elbowing him in the back afterwards._

  
_"Oooh, a fancy word! How fitting from a fancy guy like you!" Andy snarked, watching as Pryce hit the ground. "Seriously, what's your problem? Why are you working for that weird lizard?"_

  
_"Don't insult her!" Pryce shouted, jumping to his feet and swinging his sword. The weapon slashed a hole through Andy's shirt, the edge grazing him enough to draw a thin line of blood._

  
_Andy let out a hiss in response, glaring at the prince. 'Okay, this isn't going too well. Think Andrew, think!' He was quickly caught off guard once again by Pryce and soon enough found himself pinned under one of the prince's boots, tip of the sword pointed at his throat._

  
_"Surrender and I'll spare you," Pryce said, eyes glowing a sickly green color as he spoke. "If not then I will end this now."_

  
_"Look, I get it Pryce, we've fought more than enough times with each other but this is going too damn far," Andy said, staring up at him. "I don't know what that witch said or did to convince you to do this but you need to stop!"_

  
_"Ending you will be for the good of the people!" Pryce yelled, gripping the hilt of his sword tight. "As will seeing to it that her will is followed!"_

  
_"The people you're going on about sent me to find you!" Andy argued desperately. "They're worried sick about you! Imagine how they'd feel knowing their hero is working for the person who terrorizes them constantly!"_

  
_"I..." Pryce's expression became unreadable as Andy continued._

  
_"You've always gone out of your way to protect people. This isn't like you and you know it," Andy said, determination taking over. Over and over the words rang in Pryce's head. The more he tried to ignore them, the louder they seemed to become._

  
_Moving away from Andy, Pryce began to stumble backwards, his sword slipping out of his hand and landing with a thud on the ground. Slowly sinking to his knees, he gripped his hair with both hands and clenched his eyes shut. He swore he heard Andy calling his name but it sounded distant among the mental battle that was being waged in himself._

  
_Flashes of his previous battles against the Dragon Witch flashed through his head, combining with his rival's words. Soon, glimpses of people thanking him for saving them, of them calling him a hero, joined in. Finally, a vision of the witch herself with an old spell book and potion bottle in hand faded into view before shattering like glass._

  
_"...-yce? Pryce?" He heard Andy calling his name as he finally opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ground as the green glow faded completely. Slowly looking up, he realized that his rival was kneeling down so they were both eye-level, a concerned look on his face._

  
_"Andrew...?" Pryce finally said quietly._

  
_"You uh...you alright?" Andy asked, scratching the back of his head nervously. "You kind of...?"_

  
_Pryce nodded his head, "Yes, yes I think so."_

  
_Andy let out a sigh at that, "Well, that's a relief then." Looking around, he helped Pryce up before grabbing the prince's sword and handing it to him. "Here. No doubt you'll need this against that witch."_

  
_Taking the sword carefully, Pryce stared down at it. "She'll pay for this..."_

  
_"Knowing you vs. her, I'm sure she will," Andy said, looking around warily as night quickly began to creep upon the place. "I should...probably get going..."_

  
_"Andrew, wait," Pryce said, looking up at him. The other figment did so, looking at him in confusion. "I...thank you. ...If it weren't for you, who knows what I would have done under the Dragon Witch's control."_

  
_"Uh, yeah, you're welcome," Andy answered awkwardly, not used to talking with his rival civilly for more than a few minutes about anything._

  
_"I have a request, if you'll hear it out," Pryce added._

  
_"What kind of request?" Andy asked, crossing his arms._

  
_"The Dragon Witch is clearly getting desperate for a victory if she's resorting to mind control," Pryce said. "I want you to help me take her down - make her think for a long, long time before trying something like this ever again."_

  
_Andy was silent as he contemplated what Pryce said. 'I didn't sign up for any of this. I was just supposed to see what happened to him and then get the hell out of dodge. ...But... Argh, damn it-!'_   
_"Alright, fine," he said. "But only so we don't end up back at square one. I don't need to have a sword pointed at me again anytime soon."_

* * *

  
Shadow Thomas was silent as Pryce finished his story, ending it with how the two sent the Dragon Witch running for several weeks. By the time she came back around, she found a different prince to fight with constantly, inadvertently giving Pryce a much needed break.

  
"She never did try any of that mind control stuff after that...at least until _now_ ," Pryce muttered.

  
Before Shadow Thomas could respond, he heard the Dragon Witch calling for him. Staring at Pryce, he got up and left the room, Tempest asleep on his shoulder. His thoughts were stuck on Pryce's story as he slowly trudged up the stairs to the witch's work room. While he did so, he felt Tempest shift slightly against him. Glancing down at her, he thought back to the witch's threats against the snake and then to the attempt she made on Missy and Pranks's lives.

  
Reaching for the doorknob, something in him suddenly snapped and he let out a low growl. Forcing a neutral expression on his face, he opened the door and walked in, coming face to face with the witch. " _Yes?_ " He asked, keeping his voice even.

  
"Did he tell you anything useful perchance?" The witch asked, scowling at the sight of Tempest.

  
"Such as?" Shadow Thomas glared, not missing her reaction for a moment.

  
"Such as what Roman and those other " _heroes_ " could possibly be up to?" She added, ignoring his glare. "Surely by now they're aware of his sudden disappearance."

  
"Nothing of the sort," Shadow Thomas confirmed.

* * *

  
Once Pryce was sure that he was completely alone, he spoke two words, "Communicator on." With a quiet click, he heard Ian's voice come through.

  
_"Pryce? How'd things turn out?"_

  
"She took the deal," Pryce said, "Missy and Pranks are free now and she's none the wiser."

  
_"What about Shadow Thomas?"_

  
"...I honestly couldn't tell you right now," Pryce replied. "The snake from before - Tempest - she's with him right now so there's that. I did speak with him somewhat though; I can only hope that some of what I said sticks with him."

  
_"...Well, that's something I suppose. Are there any guards?"_

  
"None," Pryce said, "it's just her and Shadow Thomas here. Still, be careful whether you sneak in or brute force your way into this place, especially since Thomas insists on going with you guys."

  
_"That's a given. We'll make sure you're not stuck there for too long. Ian, out."_

  
"Communicator off," Pryce muttered, staring up at the ceiling. The minute he had his sword back, that witch wouldn't be coming back for a long, long time.


	15. Up In Flames

"Come on!" Missy yelled, glancing back at Pranks as they ran.

  
"How far away are we?!" Pranks shouted, following Missy as fast as he could.

  
"I don't-oof!" Missy grunted as he ran into someone, both of them ending up on the ground.

  
Pranks skidded to a stop upon seeing this, not about to join them in the dirt. "Whoa, close one."

  
"Missy? Pranks?" Andy asked, jumping to his feet and offering a hand to Missy. "That witch didn't try anything else against you guys, did she?"

  
Missy shook his head in disbelief as he got up, taking quick note of the others with him. "I- _No_! Do you have _any idea_ what Pryce did?!"

  
"Followed up on _his part_ of the plan from the looks of it," Andy answered.

  
"... _Plan_?" Missy asked, both Pranks and himself staring in confusion. "A plan to get captured? Yeah, he did _that_ alright."

  
"That and to get you two free from her," Thomas said stepping forward, looking a bit nervous.

  
" _Thomas?_ " Both of them asked at the same time.

  
"Hey guys - been a while, huh?" Thomas scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

  
"Yeah I'll say," Pranks remarked. "You got _a lot_ to catch us up on when this is all over."

  
"That's putting it lightly," Missy muttered, shaking his head. " _Wait_ \- " _part of the plan_ " - what's the other part of this apparent _plan_?"

  
"The other part of the plan is for us to sneak into the witch's lair and take her down," Ian spoke up.

  
"I'm in," Pranks said immediately after, earning stares from everyone. " _What?_ "

  
"...Pranks, are you _sure_ about that?" Dayd said, trying to reason with him.

  
"We _literally_ _just escaped_ and you want to go _back_?" Missy asked in a deadpan voice before yelling. "Have you lost your mind?!"

  
Pranks put his hands up in mock surrender while Dayd held Missy back easily. "Well... _yeah_! Even if Pryce getting locked up is part of their plan, we still have _Shadow_ that we need to free!"

  
"...We'll make sure that we rescue him - and Tempest for that matter," Ian answered, casting an uncertain glance at the two figments.

  
"Look, not for nothing you guys, but he's _probably not_ going to want to speak with any of you once he's rescued," Pranks stated, crossing his arms, looking surprisingly serious for once. "He'll at least talk with the two of us."

  
Sighing, Missy glanced between Pranks and the others, shrugging his shoulders. "Pranks is right on this. Shadow will talk to us and _maybe_ Thomas but anyone else is unlikely."

  
Ian stood there in quiet contemplation, "Tell me something - other than the Dragon Witch and Tempest, has he ever mentioned _anyone_ _else_ by name, perchance?"

  
The two figments glanced at each other for a brief moment before Missy answered. "He mentioned some guy named _Ian_ more than once. _Why_?"

  
"Because in that case, he was talking about _me_ ," Ian said with a scowl.

* * *

  
"Give me the snake."

  
Shadow Thomas looked up at the witch's outstretched hand in disbelief while a hiss from Tempest was heard. " _Excuse me_?"

  
"You heard me, boy. _Give me the snake_ ," the witch demanded, glaring down at them both. Shadow Thomas had been avoiding all of her questions about what he'd been talking about with Pryce. ' _I know he had to have said something! I heard his voice when I passed by the door earlier!_ ' Her voice echoed in his head over and over. Anytime she asked, he denied that he knew what she was talking about and she was getting sick of it.

  
" _Over my dead body_ ," Shadow Thomas growled, standing up from the chair he was previously sitting on.

  
" _Don't tempt me_!" The witch snapped back at him. "I am in charge here! Now do as I say before I grab that damn snake myself!"

  
He had been planning on acting like she still had him under her control the minute he walked through that door; a waiting game to get back at her the minute she would inevitably call for his help against another threat. Now though, he had quickly lost all of his patience with her  due to the threats towards Tempest. Instead, he grabbed the witch's shoulders and slammed her against the wall as hard as he could, ripping an indignant shout from the dragon.

  
"What do you think you're doing?! Release me this instant!" The witch demanded, struggling against him.

  
"Fuck you!" he snapped harshly, both himself and Tempest glaring at her. "You've had this coming!" He yelled, moving aside and throwing her into her workstation. With a loud crash, she groaned as she sat up, the cauldron knocked onto its side and the spell book falling page side down into the water that was spilled on the floor.

  
" _You_..." She trailed off, her tail swishing slowly as she stood up, grabbing the spell book as she did so. Glancing at it, she tossed the book away, no longer having a use for it at the moment. Without a word, she lunged at Shadow Thomas, a murderous look in her eyes.

  
Shadow Thomas dodged out of the way and watched as the witch crashed hard enough into the wall that she actually broke through it. Looking down in shock, he saw her fall towards the ground below, only for a pair of wings to burst out of her back and send her back into the sky. " _Get back here_!" The witch screeched before breathing fire at the two, not caring about the state of her home at the moment.

  
"...Shit," Shadow Thomas muttered. Thinking fast, he turned and rushed through the door, jumping from the top of the stairs to the floor below with a grunt. Running towards the room that Pryce was being held in, he threw the door open and destroyed his shackles with a quick blast of dark magic.

  
"What the-?!" Pryce was cut off by Shadow Thomas.

  
"Go get your damn sword back and get the hell outside! _Now_!" Shadow Thomas commanded, his voice holding a stern tone to it.

  
Although confused, Pryce left the room as instructed and his confusion quickly turned to shocked realization the minute he saw the smoke billowing out of the potion room, accompanied by the tell-tale sound of the witch's lunatic laughter from all around them. Not wasting a minute more, the prince hurried off towards the witch's treasure hoard while Shadow Thomas fled the building.

  
"Tempest," he whispered quickly, causing the snake to nuzzle his neck, letting him know she was still there. Smiling slightly, his expression dropped back to a scowl, "You won't be safe if you stay with me right now. I need you to go hide far away from here."

  
Tempest let out a hiss, shaking her head. She made no other movement, instead laying her head down. "Tempest, _come on_ , you _know_ it's not safe right now," Shadow Thomas tried to reason. Another hiss was his answer as the snake stubbornly clung to his shoulders.

  
' _I lost my family because I fled from danger_ ,' Tempest thought to herself, glaring up at the Dragon Witch. _'I refuse to do the same thing now, especially not with Shadow finally back to his senses_.' Her thoughts were interrupted by Shadow Thomas jolting back in surprise as the witch suddenly appeared before them both.

  
"This could have been _avoided_ if you just handed over that damned snake," she said coldly, her tone contrasting the flames left in her wake.

  
In response, Shadow Thomas aimed a punch at her face. However, she ducked out of the way and elbowed him in the chest. While he stumbled back from the unexpected force, the witch made a grab for Tempest's tail, earning several loud hisses as the snake thrashed about angrily.

  
" _Tempest!_ " Shadow Thomas yelled angrily, lunging at the witch. In a mimicry of his earlier move, the witch dodged out of the way, laughing as she did so.

  
"I may not have my spell book anymore but I don't _need_ it for this!" She declared, holding up a still struggling Tempest.

  
" _Let. Her. Go_!" He demanded, unaware that Pryce had finally joined them outside as the witch's home began to crumble. Nor was he aware that the others, including Missy, Pranks, and Thomas himself, had shown up.

  
 " _That's_ the Dragon Witch?" Thomas asked quietly, a stunned look on his face.

  
" _Unfortunately_ ," Roman said through gritted teeth, one hand on his sword's hilt.

  
"Oh, I'll let her go alright," the witch taunted. Flying into the air, the witch smirked at Tempest, who hissed as her in return. She began to whisper incantations under her breath, letting go of Tempest as she did so. While the snake fell through the air, Shadow Thomas ran towards the spot where she'd no doubt end up, shouting her name.

  
However, Tempest began to glow as the witch began speaking louder. Holding out a hand, a burst of magic shot out and hit the snake. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Shadow Thomas was silently cursing himself for not being fast enough or even smart enough to have thought to teleport there until after the fact. However, what the two expected never came to pass. Instead, there was a flash of light that forced all of them to cover their eyes and a loud hiss followed. As the light passed, the hissing steadily grew louder and deeper until finally, a massive roar was heard.

  
" _T-Tempest_...?" Shadow Thomas asked, moving his arm from his eyes. He stood there in horrified shock at the sight before him. Tempest was no longer the normal snake from mere minutes ago; in her place stood an angry behemoth that glared down at everyone and everything she saw.

  
"Oh, would you look at _that_ ," the Dragon Witch said mockingly, staring right at Shadow Thomas, "it seems that you were _right_ in keeping that snake around after all!" She punctuated this statement with gleeful laughter, only for it to be interrupted moments later.

  
"Dragon Witch!"

  
She looked over and saw Roman and the others, the prince standing before them all with his sword drawn. Next to him stood Pryce, the figment having regrouped with his friends during the chaos. Among the group were mixed expressions of shock and rage, a fact that she took delight in. " _Oh, you again_." With a side glance at Tempest, she spoke, " _Snake_. Deal with your former master and _anyone_ who tries to help him. I have a score to settle with some royal pests."

  
"Tempest, _don't_ -!" Shadow Thomas quickly jumped out of the way as Tempest tried to bite him, the snake's head hitting the ground before rising up again. Left in its wake was a crater marring the ground.

  
All that Shadow Thomas received in reply was a roar.


	16. Of Snakes and Witches

Shadow Thomas grunted as his back collided with the nearest tree in the surrounding forest. Trying to talk to Tempest - to reason with her - that was clearly out of the question at the moment. Even if he could do so, there was another problem. ' _How am I supposed to even change her back to normal...?_ ' This train of thought was interrupted by someone kneeling down next to him.

  
"Are you alright?!" The person asked worriedly.

  
"Wha-?" Shadow Thomas jumped to his feet upon seeing Thomas himself. "The hell are _you_ doing here?! Are you _trying_ to get yourself _killed_?!" He snapped at the host.

  
"I'm here to _help_ ," Thomas said stubbornly. "I _didn't_ _run_ when Ian was trying to take over my mind, I'm _not_ running _now_."

  
"You... _Fine_ ," he said, scowling as he looked over at Tempest who was clearly trying to locate him through the trees. "Tempest... Distract her or whatever but _do not hurt her_. _Got it_?"

  
Thomas nodded, "We have to do _something_ about her though."

  
"I'll think of a plan!" Shadow Thomas snapped again, glaring at him for a moment before heading towards Tempest's location. Staring after him, Thomas just shook his head and followed.

* * *

  
Tempest growled as she felt something bounce off of her skin. Looking to her left, she peered at the ground and saw Pranks there, Missy standing behind him and grabbing him by the back of his shirt.

  
" _Really?!_ What the hell were you expecting a _rock_ to do?!" Missy yelled at Pranks.

  
"Distract her," Pranks said, pointing at Tempest who was now staring at them angrily. " _Run._ " Without another word, the two took off running into the forest, ducking and weaving around the trees. While Tempest gave chase, she didn't notice two others jump from the trees and onto her back.

  
"Dad, what's the plan?" Virgil yelled, trying not to let the " _flight_ " part of fight or flight kick in at the moment.

  
"Remember that moment from _Tarzan_?" Arlo asked. "Where the snake was chasing him but got all tangled up?"

  
"You're basing this plan off a _movie_?!" Virgil responded in disbelief.

  
"It's either we find a way to _trap_ her or we _attack_ her!" Arlo pointed out, doing his best to keep his balance as he helped Virgil stand up. "And if we do attack her, Shadow will probably attack _us_ after the fact!"

  
" _Too much pressure_..." Virgil muttered, following Arlo as he ran along Tempest's back. By now she had lost sight of the two figments she was chasing and had slowed down significantly while she looked around.

  
"Follow my lead," Arlo said, jumping onto Tempest's head before jumping to the ground in front of her. Although reluctant, Virgil copied Arlo's move, not about to leave him to face the snake on his own.

  
"Hey, lost sight of someone, did you?" Arlo called up to Tempest. Tempest let out an angry roar in response and darted at them. However, Virgil was quicker, getting Arlo and himself out of the way while she slammed into the ground. Nodding at each other, the two took off, Tempest quickly chasing after them.

* * *

  
" _Finally_ ," Ian muttered as he successfully picked the lock to the stronghold in the dark side of the mindscape.

  
"Shouldn't we be helping the others right now?" Teal grunted, helping Ian push the reinforced double doors open.

  
"Whether we were to attempt to deal with the snake _or_ the witch, the point stands that we are not equipped to do so at the moment," Logan pointed out, Patton standing close to him.

  
"Which is exactly why we're here," Ian said.

  
"But this place isn't the same as before. Isn't your old lab gone?" Patton asked.

  
"Just because I left the lab doesn't mean I didn't leave a few tricks behind as well," Ian answered, leading them into the stronghold. Taking a moment to adjust to how different his former home was now, he shook his head and took a small controller out of his coat pocket. "Stand back."

  
As soon as he pressed one of the buttons on the controller, a portal seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the end of the main hall.

  
" _Wow_..." Patton trailed off, at a loss for words.

  
"...What in the world?" Logan asked in disbelief.

  
Ian merely smirked, "Figures. Shadow only changed what he could see at the time - he had no clue that my lab extended underground."

  
"I don't think _anyone_ had a clue about that," Teal remarked.

  
"Regardless. Follow me," Ian said, leading them towards the portal. "Some of my old experimental weapons _should_ still be down there. Depending on which ones, you can use them against the witch safely."

* * *

  
Back at the battlefield, the Dragon Witch taunted the group on the ground below her. "Aw, what's the matter? _Can't_ _fly_ in the sky like I can?"

  
"Come down here and fight, you damn coward!" Aiden yelled at the witch, causing her expression to change to one of annoyance.

  
"I may be _a lot_ of things but I am no _coward_!" She yelled, swooping down and breathing fire, causing them to scatter. Leaning back, she got ready to breathe more fire but was interrupted by someone grabbing onto her left leg. "What the-?!"

  
"Sup bitch?" Remy said, gripping onto her as hard as he could. A sudden stabbing pain shot through her as Remy stabbed her with a switchblade. Letting go as she began to thrash in anger, Remy found himself being caught by Andy. "...Huh. Nice catch."

  
" _How_ did you get my switchblade?" Andy muttered, letting Remy go.

  
Remy merely grinned, "Swiped it from you on the way here while you weren't looking."

  
"You're lucky I _didn't_ plan on using it," Andy responded, annoyed. His attention turned back to the witch, who in turn focused on Remy. The minute she charged at them, Andy pushed Remy out of the way and grabbed his switchblade, yanking it out of the witch's leg as she flew by, earning a screech of pain from her.

  
"I wonder if the others ever had to fight a freaking _dragon_ ," Andy muttered, keeping his eyes on the witch as she flew around just out of reach.

  
Nearby, Pryce gripped his sword tight as he glared at the Dragon Witch. Her flying around was a problem, one that could be stopped if he could get close enough to land a hit on one of her wings. Glancing at Roman, the fellow prince nodded his head without a word, no doubt having come to a similar conclusion about their shared foe. It was just a matter of not getting torched while attempting to do so.

  
To their utter bewilderment, some kind of electric orb had struck the witch in her arm, throwing her off while flying. From the forest, they noticed Ian standing there with Logan, a blaster in hand, right next to him. Following them were Patton and Teal, each with their own odd-looking blasters.

  
"Good shot," Ian remarked, watching as the witch recovered from the zap she had received.

  
"...I must admit, I am surprised by that result," Logan replied, looking at the blaster briefly.

  
"How's _this_ for a surprise?!" The witch yelled, appearing in front of the four. A wave of panic swept over them and, in a rush of adrenaline mixed with needing to protect his family, Patton aimed his own blaster at the witch, pulling the trigger. The witch was sent flying back from the point blank attack, an ice spear jutting out of her shoulder.

  
Silence fell over the battlefield as everyone just stared at Patton in a mixture of shock and awe. After several long minutes, and several frustrated yells as the witch struggled to dislodge the ice, Remy spoke up, "That... _that was awesome_."

  
That snapped everyone back to reality and the two princes noticed that they had a clear shot at the Dragon Witch's wings. Sharing a look, both of them charged at her from opposite directions. Roman reached her first and slashed through her right wing with his sword. Dodging out of the way of her fire breath, he watched as Pryce used her distracted state to slice through her other wing, rendering her flightless at the moment. This setback didn't stop her from keeping up her attacks though. Instead she breathed fire all around her, forcing them to dodge, lest they be burnt to a crisp.

  
"Distract her," Ian muttered, looking at Teal. The figment nodded and aimed his blaster at the witch. Pulling the trigger, a capsule hit her in the side of the head and upon impact, exploded into a cloud of thick, gray smoke.

  
While she began coughing from the smoke, Aiden sneaked over, bandana covering his mouth and nose. Pulling back his arm, he punched her with all his might, sending her flying into a tree. Dazed from both the punch and from the impact of the tree, the witch stumbled to her feet and looked ready to make a run for it. ' _The snake! I need to track down the snake!_' She thought to herself. However, a sudden pain in her tail stopped her from retreating and she whipped her head behind her. Standing there was Pryce and Dayd, the latter whom had his hands on the hilt of the prince's sword. Said sword was plunged through her tail, pinning it to the ground.

  
"You're _not_ going anywhere, witch," Pryce growled out, glaring at her.

  
"You really think this is _over_?!" She snapped at both of them. "As long as I still have my fire breath, I can esc-!" Another punch, this time from Mendax, shut her up quickly.

  
Forcing her jaw shut between his hands, he stared her down. "You really don't know when to shut the hell up, do you?"

  
"Unfortunately not," Roman said, sword in hand. "It's time that we ended this once and for all."

  
Thrashing her head, she managed to wrangle out of Mendax's grip, a far-gone look on her face as the reality of her situation finally hit her like a sack of bricks. "Go ahead if you so dare, _Princey_! I have _nothing to fear_ \- even when I'm gone, you'll still have _the snake_ and _Shadow_ himself to contend with! My work - my legacy - _will live on_!"

  
Roman pointedly ignored her talking which was quickly muffled by Mendax holding her mouth shut again. Raising his sword, he never took his eyes off of her. "Anyone who _doesn't_ want to see or hear this - now would be a good time to leave and go find the others."

  
Most of them took his advice; the only ones staying behind being Pryce, Mendax, and Aiden. Once they were sure no one else was within earshot, Roman raised his sword above the witch. A muffled choking noise as blood dripped to the ground was all that was heard before Mendax let go of the witch, her body thudding against the dirt.


	17. Healed

Shadow Thomas grunted in pain as Tempest squeezed her tail around him, holding him up to her face. He had led her away from the others, going with his instincts instead of whatever plan they attempted to think up in the heat of the moment.  That resulted in him luring her through the doors to the dark side of the mindscape, where she quickly caught him.

  
If someone had asked him how he thought he'd die, this situation wouldn't have ever crossed his mind. Dying in battle against the Dragon Witch? Maybe. Ticking off the wrong person and literally getting stabbed in the back? Still more likely to him than this was.

  
' _No!_ ' He snapped to himself as he grit his teeth, clenching his eyes shut. ' _If I die then who's gonna help Tempest?!_ '

  
Tempest however continued what she was doing. Any attempt at an attack barely registered as little more than an annoying blip to her. Growling, she stared down at him, as if silently willing him to open his eyes. When he didn't, she squeezed tighter, letting out an angry roar.

  
Finally, his eyes did snap open and despite her overpowering rage clouding her mind, she was confused by what she saw. His eyes - his body for that matter - was overtaken by an aura of dark energy. " _Tempest_ ," he said in a low voice, commanding her attention, " _don't. do. this._ " In response, she roared and waved her tail, slamming him into the ground. Pulling her tail back to admire her handiwork, she saw Shadow Thomas get back up on his feet.

  
"If _magic_ turned you into _this_ ," Shadow Thomas muttered, "then that's _what_ I'll use to _help you_." Rushing at her, he jumped onto the back of her tail, quickly scrambling up to Tempest's head while she began thrashing about again.

  
" _Shadow!_ "

  
Shadow Thomas and Tempest both looked over, spotting Missy and Pranks running through the doors, followed by Ian. While Tempest was distracted, Shadow Thomas hastily threw off his gloves, his hands glowing with the same magical energy as his eyes. The moment she tried to attack them, Shadow Thomas gripped the sides of her head, claws sinking in and drawing blood.

  
He winced at the pained roar she let out, holding on tight as she shook her head desperately. "I'm sorry about this Tempest," he whispered to her, focusing all of the magic onto her. He didn't know what kind of spell the witch recited to transform Tempest, he just knew that he had to try something. " _Heal_ ," he whispered centering his thoughts on helping Tempest.

  
"What's he-?" Pranks was cut off by a sudden shout from Shadow Thomas himself.

  
" _Heal!_ "

  
Just as the others finally caught up, making it through the doors, a blinding darkness overcame the entire area as Tempest let out a roar. As the roar died down, the darkness lifted, letting things be seen once more. Where Tempest's monstrous form once was kneeled Shadow Thomas, the dark side feeling as drained as he looked. In his hands was Tempest, back to her normal form. Confused and just as tired, Tempest used the last of her energy to slither up around his shoulders, hissing contently.

  
Distantly, Shadow Thomas heard footsteps running towards him. Grunting as he stood up, his body yelling at him to lay down and get some sleep, he was almost knocked over by Missy and Pranks. Quietly, Tempest let out a hiss of annoyance but otherwise made no further movement. "Ow!" He yelled, wincing at he stumbled back a bit.

  
"Oops," Pranks said, grinning sheepishly.

  
"Sorry, sorry," Missy hurriedly apologized. "Are you and Tempest alright?"

  
"I'll let you know after I get some painkillers and some sleep," he muttered, the two figments finally letting go of him. Nearby, the others watched the interactions between the three of them, unsure of what to do from there. Finally, Ian walked over to Shadow, knowing he'd have to speak with his former mentor sooner or later.

  
" _Shadow_ ," Ian said, preparing himself for whatever might happen.

  
Slowly, Shadow Thomas turned to stare at Ian, his expression unreadable, " _Ian_. You've changed."

  
"So have _you_ ," Ian pointed out. "...We both have friends that we care about now..."

  
Shadow Thomas looked down at Tempest before glancing over at Missy and Pranks. He then turned his attention back to Ian, "...I suppose you're right."

  
"...I was given a chance to start over..." Ian explained, taking a deep breath before holding out his hand. "I want to give _you_ that same chance. Truce?"

  
Shadow Thomas stared at him hard, contemplating what Ian said. Finally, he reached out and took Ian's hand, shaking it. "Truce."

  
Before Ian could say anything else, Shadow Thomas interrupted him. " _But_ \- I _still_ want to fight you at some point; see how much you've improved."

  
Ian let out a huff before smirking, "I figured you wouldn't forget that. _Fine_ , I'll be looking forward to it."

* * *

  
Several days later, Shadow Thomas had been summoned to the real world by his host. As soon as he appeared, Thomas gestured for him to sit down, saying that he had a few questions for the dark side. With no reason not to answer him at this point, Shadow Thomas shrugged and sat down on the couch.

  
"What do you want to know?" Shadow Thomas asked, the now familiar form of Tempest relaxing against his neck.

  
"How did you reverse what the Dragon Witch did to your friend?" Thomas asked, gesturing towards Tempest who merely looked at him curiously.

  
"...I honestly have no idea myself," Shadow Thomas said, crossing his arms. "The only thing on my mind at the time was healing Tempest. I guess that influenced the magic I was using."

  
Thomas nodded his head and sat back in his chair, looking deep in thought. Finally, he looked up at the dark side. "Second question - you're clearly not like the other sides - dark or light - and it's obvious that you're not a figment...so what exactly are you?"

  
"Here's the thing. I _am_ a dark side - just in the more... _traditional_ sense," Shadow Thomas answered.

  
After several minutes of silence, realization seemed to dawn on Thomas at his words. "You mean like dark sides seen in cartoons or video games? You know, the hero's backed into a corner and a darker force takes over to get them out of harm's way?" He asked in disbelief.

  
"That _would_ fit the description," Shadow Thomas replied. "Just _don't_ try to shove me into the same group as the more..." _feral_ " ones. Anymore questions?"

  
"That..." Thomas shook his head, "that actually clears up _a lot_ of what I was going to ask, honestly."

  
"Well, if we're done here, I'm going to go back home," Shadow Thomas said. "Tempest still needs to be fed." At the mention of food, Tempest raised her head and hissed happily.

  
Once the two returned to the mindscape, Thomas glanced over at the inter-dimensional communicator sitting  on the arm of the chair. "Well, better check up on the others and let them know everything is alright now," he said to himself, switch on the communicator. "Guys? You there?"

  
" _Gifre! You and Brant need to knock it off!_ " D2 Thomas's voice came through followed by the sound of bickering in the background.

  
" _...I don't know what's going on at his end but I'm here_ ," D1 Thomas answered.

  
" _I'm here, I'm here! Sorry about that, Greed and Pride were arguing, as usual,_ " their D2 counterpart said. " _What's up?_ "

  
"Things ended up working out here," Thomas answered. "The Dragon Witch is gone and Shadow isn't acting as a threat anymore. What about you guys?"

  
" _Well, the arguing literally just stopped so that's how things are with us_ ," D2 Thomas replied.

  
" _We're still working on some stuff but everything's okay now_ ," D1 Thomas said. " _We'll fill you guys in once we're done. Right now, I want to hear everything that happened since Gunther left your dimension._ "

  
"Find a place to relax then because there's a lot to tell," Thomas answered. As he spent the next few hours talking to his counterparts, things were peaceful both in his world and in the mindscape once more.


End file.
